Thoughts Read Unspoken
by Qwi-Xux
Summary: They had different paths, but they all led to the same place. -Collection of 30 one-shots focusing on Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene- *COMPLETE - Please see A/N on chapter 30*
1. Insecure

**A/N: **These are one-shots about Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene. This was originally supposed to be a set of fifty one-shots, but I've cut it to thirty. This will definitely have some that are Cloud/Tifa, (as evidenced by the first one here) but the focus is all four characters in various times and scenarios, so if you're looking for one-shots that focus solely on Cloud/Tifa, you'll probably be disappointed.

**Disclaimer:** As usual, I do not own any part of the Final Fantasy VII compilation.

* * *

_**Insecure**_

"Why?"

The question was so quiet that Tifa almost missed hearing it. She looked up from the list she was writing and met Cloud's eyes across the table. He had been sorting delivery slips, but now he was just looking at her. His face was carefully neutral, but she could read the question in his eyes. "Why what?"

Cloud gazed at her for a moment longer and then shook his head slightly, turning his attention back to his slips. Tifa set down her pen, reaching over and covering his hand with her own.

Cloud stilled as soon as her fingers touched him, his eyes moving back to her. Finally, he asked, "Why are you still here?"

Tifa frowned. "Here at Seventh Heaven? Here writing a supply list?"

"Here with me. Why didn't you just give up on me when I left you alone with the kids? There have been…" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with the hand not trapped by hers. "There have been so many times when you should have given up on me."

Tifa's hand tightened on his. Not a week earlier, she had learned that Cloud had Geostigma. Not a week earlier, she had been terrified she would lose him forever--if not to the Stigma, then to his own despair, guilt, and hopelessness. "Should I have given up? Left you alone?"

"Maybe."

It was her turn to ask. "Why?"

"I'm…me. All I've ever done is drag you down. Even when I tried to keep you and the kids safe, all I did was hurt all of you." His words were halting but deliberate, and she knew that he'd been thinking about this, probably ever since he'd been healed of Geostigma and returned to Seventh Heaven. "I don't know if I'll ever be good at this." Cloud's eyes darted around the bar, to his delivery slips, then back to her. "At normal life."

"It's okay. It's okay, Cloud. Half the time I still have no idea what a normal life really is. Right now, all I can do is be here, with Marlene and Denzel. With you."

He was scrutinizing her now, as though trying to see into the depths of her mind. "Is that enough for you?" She heard the words he wasn't saying, hanging between them, almost tangible even though they were still unspoken. _Am I enough for you?_

She found it ironic that not so long ago, she had been the one asking if even they were not enough for him. "Yes, Cloud. That's enough for me." She wasn't sure he really understood that, wasn't sure he was yet at a point where he could really comprehend how anyone could want him. He had a tendency to see what was broken in himself, and in that, she knew they had more in common than he might have realized. It was easy for her to see her own shortcomings and failures, easy to doubt herself and to be insecure about her place in Cloud's life. He'd been home for less than a week and she still hadn't shed the fear that she would wake up one day and find him gone. She didn't want to be left alone again.

Cloud moved his hand out from under hers, and she tried not to be disappointed that he was withdrawing from her. But then he pressed his fingers gently to her forehead, which she realized was scrunched up with her frown. "You're worried," he said.

He dropped his hand and she forced a smile, shaking her head. "I'm okay."

"Tifa." He always managed to fit exactly what he was feeling into the way he said her name, and right now, he was telling her he didn't believe her.

_Just don't go anywhere, _she thought. She bit her lip and looked down at her supply list, but the words she had written blurred together and didn't seem to make any sense. Maybe she should do this tomorrow when she wasn't so tired.

Cloud stood up from the table, and she fully expected him to gather up his delivery slips and leave the room. Instead, he stepped over to her and took her hands, tugging her to her feet. Her eyes flew to his in surprise, but then he was pulling her close, wrapping his arms around her. She was so startled that it took her a moment to actually move at all, but then she was returning his hesitant embrace.

It was a gesture on his part that said so much to her. It said "_I'm sorry_" and "_it's okay._" It said "_I'm here" _and "_I'm going to try._" And maybe it said more than that, too, but those unspoken words still lay just beneath the surface, not quite ready to come yet, but maybe someday. Maybe soon.

She pressed her face into his shoulder and took a deep breath, smiling even though he couldn't see it.

He was enough for her. More than enough. She would give everything she had to show him that, no matter how much time it took. Just like she always had.


	2. Solution

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed: DJ, Amos Whirly, Ruby, vx-Luna-xv, kissychan, Fairheartstrife, crystalstars88, Sigbru, Valentine'sNinja, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, P.P.V.V, San Hayashi, Iskra revoir, NailoSyanodel, Sekihara Tae, and Ritsu-San.

* * *

_**Solution**_

Tifa was having a bad day. Marlene could tell the moment she set foot in the bar after school and saw the way Tifa was drying the dishes, scrubbing them just a little too hard with the towel. Then she noticed how Tifa's mouth was smiling in a very tense way at the man who was sitting at the bar and talking to her, and her eyes weren't happy at all.

An actual smile touched Tifa's eyes briefly when she saw Marlene and Denzel come in the door, but as soon as she had greeted them and turned back to the dishes and customer, it was gone again.

Marlene grabbed Denzel's arm before he could dart toward the kitchen in search of a snack. "Denzel."

"What?"

Marlene nodded toward the counter, and Denzel paused, watching Tifa and the man talking to her. The man leaned forward, far more engrossed in the conversation than Tifa was, but he probably didn't even notice. Marlene rolled her eyes. She had seen this a _lot _in Seventh Heaven. Not so much in recent months, because most of the people who came in knew by now that Tifa wasn't the _only _adult who lived there.

Denzel nudged Marlene with his elbow, his eyes narrowing at Tifa's customer. "So what do you want to do? Operation Moogle Blaster?"

"Nah, that's too easy," Marlene said. "Tifa's having a really bad day. I don't think it's just this guy. She just looks like the whole day's been hard. And she was really, really tired this morning, remember?"

Denzel studied Tifa as she began pouring a glass of alcohol and the jerky way she set it down in front of the jabbering man. "Yeah, you're right. Operation Chocobo Charge, then."

Marlene did a quick scan of the bar. Only three other customers besides the one at the counter, and she recognized all three. "Sounds good to me."

She waved at old Mr. Tills sitting in the corner booth. He leaned back in his chair and said, "Well, ain't you just gettin' prettier everyday, Miss Marlene."

"Thank you." Marlene surreptitiously poked Denzel's leg with her foot.

"I'm going," Denzel whispered. He slipped through to the house portion of Seventh Heaven and she heard his footsteps on the stairs.

Tifa noticed, too, and glanced in the direction of the stairs with a slight, almost distracted frown. Marlene skipped over to the counter and without hesitation pulled herself up onto the barstool next to Tifa's chatty customer. He shot Marlene a look of surprise, which quickly turned to distaste.

Even better. He was one of those people who probably didn't like kids all that much--at least when he was trying to hit on a pretty bartender. Marlene smiled brightly at him. She then looked Tifa. "Hi!"

Tifa still looked tense, but she seemed happy to turn her attention away from the customer and to Marlene. "Hi, sweetie. How was school?"

"I won the spelling contest because I could spell '_construction_' and no one else could. I can't wait to tell Cloud; it was one of the words he made me write down last week when we were sorting his delivery slips. Plus I got full marks on my history report!"

"That's great, Marlene," Tifa said warmly.

Her customer, Marlene noted smugly, was looking between Tifa and Marlene with dawning realization that maybe Tifa wasn't single--or if she was, maybe she had kids. That was usually enough to put most guys off right there, except for the really persistent ones. Or the ones who just wanted a quick roll in the hay. Marlene really wasn't sure what that meant, but Yuffie had once said that the men who wanted a quick roll in the hay were the ones Tifa had the hardest time getting rid of nicely and that she should just punch them across the bar. Tifa had replied that if she did that, she would lose a chunk of her income from customers who came in for a drink.

When Marlene had asked what a "quick roll in the hay" was, Tifa had looked horrified, not having realized Marlene was listening, and then she had clapped a hand over Yuffie's mouth before Yuffie could explain. "You'll learn about that when you're older," Tifa had said firmly.

Marlene sighed to herself just thinking about it. Everyone was always saying that she would learn things when she was older. Just because she was six and three-quarters, it didn't mean she was clueless. Besides, she was curious. So she had asked Cloud when he came home what it meant when men wanted to have a quick roll in the hay with Tifa. She wasn't sure she had ever seen his face look quite the way it had when those words had come out of her mouth. To her exasperation, instead of telling her what it meant, he had called Tifa's name and hurried off to talk to her.

Grown-ups were so weird sometimes.

The man next to Marlene had apparently decided that whether or not Tifa was involved with children, he was going to stick around, and even with Marlene sitting next to him, he just ignored her and kept bothering Tifa. Fortunately, Denzel returned to the bar, one hand in his pocket, and he nodded at Marlene as he walked past her. He pulled the object out of his pocket and stuck it to the bottom of the unsuspecting man's chair, at the same time pressing a small bottle into Marlene's fingers.

Marlene plunked her backpack on the bar counter, near enough to the man's drink to block it from Tifa's sight, and suppressed a delighted smirk as a sudden, loud _"Wark!" _came from directly underneath the man's chair. He jumped and cursed, and Tifa's eyes narrowed, first at the customer, and then pinning sharp looks at Denzel and Marlene. Marlene blinked at her innocently, knowing Tifa wasn't in the least bit fooled, and satisfied because she could see a hint of mirth on Tifa's lips.

There was another _"Wark!" _Over at his table, old Mr. Tills called out, "You got a chocobo in here somewhere, Tifa?"

"Denzel." Tifa's voice held a hint of a warning in it, and the man beside Marlene swiveled around, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise.

_"Wark!"_

Marlene took the opportunity while the customer's back was turned to dump some of the contents of the bottle Denzel had given her into his glass. Then she nodded at Denzel, who sauntered back past the man's barstool to reclaim the object he'd stuck to the bottom of it. Marlene slid off her own barstool, snatched up her backpack, and hurried with Denzel around the corner toward the stairs.

They both paused and peered out into the bar, watching Tifa say something to her customer. He smiled in a way that Marlene didn't like one bit, and then picked up his drink and took a swallow.

The next smile he gave Tifa revealed a row of bright blue teeth. Marlene put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, and then yanked back from the doorway when Tifa looked over.

Denzel held up the miniature toy chocobo that he had slapped some sticky tape on, and as soon as he hung it upside down, it squawked, _"Wark!"_

"Who let the chocobo inside?"

Cloud's mild voice brought their attention to the garage door to see Cloud stepping through, a package in one hand and his sword strapped to his back. He looked between Denzel and Marlene, his eyes landing on the small bottle in Marlene's fist. "What's going on?" he asked, and Marlene knew from his tone that he was aware they were up to _something_.

_"Wark!"_

Tifa appeared in the doorway then, her hands on her hips. She was taken aback for a moment when she saw Cloud. "Cloud, you're home early!" Without missing a beat, she faced Marlene and Denzel and said, "And _you _two!" She held out her hand. "Hand it over. Operation Chocobo Charge is busted."

Marlene and Denzel exchanged glances. How had she known what it was called? Sighing, Marlene handed her the transparent bottle of coloring, which was part of a package of gags and tricks that Yuffie had given Denzel a month earlier for his ninth birthday.

Tifa held her other hand out toward Denzel, and he passed her the chocobo toy, which uttered one last _"Wark!" _before Tifa flipped it right-side up and it stopped squawking.

Cloud slowly set his package on the stairs. "What happened?"

"When that customer realizes his teeth are _blue--_" Tifa began in a low voice.

"You were having a bad day!" Marlene said.

Tifa's eyebrows rose. "And you thought this would make it better?"

Marlene and Denzel exchanged glances. Tifa didn't sound angry, really, just suddenly tired. Any of the mirth that had been on her face was gone.

"Why have you had a bad day?" Cloud interrupted, his eyes searching Tifa's face.

At least _he _knew that if Marlene and Denzel had taken it upon themselves to come up with a solution for Tifa's troubles, then there was cause for concern. Marlene hated when Tifa was unhappy. "I don't know what happened at the beginning of the day," Marlene said quickly, "but when we got home the customer out there was bothering Tifa."

Denzel nodded in agreement. "We could tell."

"I think he was one of those guys that wants a quick roll in the hay," Marlene added.

"Marlene!" Tifa exclaimed.

Marlene couldn't help but notice the way Cloud's eyes narrowed dangerously and his fingers twitched toward the sword on his back. "Tifa?"

Tifa's eyes darted to Marlene and Denzel, and then she sighed, moving to the side with Cloud and talking in whispers with him. Marlene and Denzel exchanged satisfied glances and furtively gave each other high-fives. Whether or not they got in trouble, Operation Chocobo Charge had been a success in more ways than Marlene could have hoped. She would have bet all of her crayons--and maybe her paints--that the obnoxious customer would never show his face in Seventh Heaven again.


	3. Scar

**A/N: **Thanks once more to my reviewers: NailoSyanodel, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, kitsune13, Fairheartstrife, Amos Whirly, Calenlass Greenleaf1, Sigbru, vx-Luna-xv, Ruby, P.P.V.V, San Hayashi, and iRathiest.

* * *

_**Scar**_

Cloud had wanted to offer his family so much more than he'd been able to give them. He had been full of dreams when he left Nibelheim, full of hopes and ambitions--he would prove himself to Tifa; he would show everyone that he was strong, and maybe one day, he would even be worthy of her.

Instead of fulfilling those dreams, instead of giving Tifa anything like she deserved, all he did was take from her. He took and he took and sometimes he didn't know how she was still standing, didn't know how he hadn't yet bled her completely dry.

Sometimes he wasn't sure he really had much of anything to give to _anyone_. The times when he was stuck between the years that Hojo had taken from him and the years he had taken from himself as he was consumed in guilt, he wondered how there _could_ be anything left. It had taken a lot for Cloud to really face Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene--to face himself. It had taken Geostigma, and the Remnants, and battling Sephiroth again. It had taken their words. Tifa asking him why they had to lose out to a memory. Marlene demanding to know why he didn't pay any attention to them. Denzel's hopeful voice when he asked if he would see Cloud at home.

Part of him knew that it should have been an impossibility that he was even there at all. He should have been dead, or crazy, or shattered into so many pieces that nothing could ever put him back together. Except he was alive, he had survived the insanity in his mind, and his pieces, though broken, were not as many as they should have been. They were slowly being put back together.

He didn't know if anyone would ever completely be able to understand what he had been through--even Tifa, who had walked with him through his mind and memories, would never fully know what it was like to be snatched up by a mad scientist at the age of sixteen, to slowly lose awareness of everyone and everything around him. She would never really know what it was like to be rescued by the man who had been a friend and hero to him, only to find him dying, to come back to awareness and find himself twenty-one and living with someone else's persona in his head.

Denzel and Marlene didn't yet know everything that had happened to him in his past, and he couldn't say he was looking forward to the day when they asked more about it. Their little questions already brought back enough.

When Marlene asked Cloud why he didn't like riding in cars, his answer to her was that they were too small and he liked his bike. He didn't tell her that being trapped in a tank of Mako for so many of his teenage years had made him hate confined spaces.

When Denzel asked him if he sat in the rain because it reminded him of the healing rain that had cleansed the Geostigma, he had replied, "Sometimes," but if the rain reminded him of Aerith, then it also reminded him of Zack--of the day Zack had died, when the rain had washed his blood into the ground. Death and healing, completely opposite, yet both had played parts in Cloud's life. And when it came down to the rain, it usually wasn't memory that brought him outside into it, but just the simple relief that he wasn't trapped in a place where he _couldn't _feel rain on his skin.

When he woke up in the night, gasping and shaking as the nightmares still danced before his eyes, he felt completely suffocated. He was stifled under the blankets, in the confines of four walls. And Tifa would slip out of bed and open the window, no matter what the weather, before returning to sit next to him and wrap her arms around him. He hated those moments, because it made him weak in front of her, and he'd been weak enough for her to last several lifetimes. And he wouldn't hate those moments, because she knew. She knew why he had nightmares and why he sat in the rain and why he didn't like being cars. She knew and she didn't think him weak because of it. It was both terrifying and relieving to be known that well.

Sometimes, during those after-nightmare moments, when she was holding him, her cheek pressed to his back or shoulder, she would murmur, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Most of the time, he wouldn't want to talk about it at all. These were his struggles, his pain, his memories of horror paying him a visit. The past was in the past; he had spent enough time dwelling in it already, and far too much time dragging Tifa through it, to want to relive it at all.

Every once in a while, though, the words would come out. Fragmented and jagged, those horrors would be whispered in the darkness. Tifa never said anything; maybe they both knew that if she had apologized or told him it was okay he wouldn't have been able to talk about it. He didn't want to hear apologies or sympathies; what had happened had happened and nothing would change it.

Even though she didn't speak, her grip on him would tighten, and sometimes her fingers would graze over his skin, over the scars left by Sephiroth's sword or Hojo's knives and needles--marks left on his skin before the years of Mako enhancements changed him so that he healed before he scarred. These outward marks were only the barest reflection of the ones he bore inside.

He didn't push Tifa's fingers away, even when it hurt, even when the only thing he could see in those nighttime moments were shadows of his own failures. She might not ever be able to really understand how it had felt to go through everything he had, but she bore her own pain and her own scars, and in that, they shared a silent understanding.

Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene all gave to him, and the longer he was with them, the more he was able to give to them in return. It didn't always come easily or naturally, but it came and that was what really mattered. When it really came down to it, they were all scarred. In different ways, perhaps, but none of them had escaped unscathed. They all had their own fears.

So when Marlene woke up early as he was getting ready to leave on deliveries and joined him for breakfast, he got used to making food for both of them. As he listened to her chat, he came to understand that her fear was being alone, and just by sitting with her, he was helping.

When there was a thunderstorm and Denzel cringed with every loud crash and boom_, _trying not to show how afraid he was, Cloud slipped a pair of headphones over his ears and played cards with him.

And on the nights when Tifa was the one to wake up trembling from her own haunted past, he was there to wrap her in his arms.

Maybe it still wasn't as much as they deserved. But maybe for them it was enough.


	4. Butterfly

**A/N: **Major thank yous to my reviewers: P.P.V.V, kitsune13, NailoSyanodel, Valentine'sNinja, San Hayashi, GettinHotWithJC, KCVII, Amos Whirly, macalaniaprincess, Calenlass Greenleaf, and vx-Luna-xv.

This one-shot is focused on Marlene and Tifa, because I've been wanting to write a one-shot about this particular point in their lives for a while now.

* * *

_**Butterfly**_

The bar was crowded and loud. When night fell, it brought all manner of people--some of them very unsavory characters--into Tifa's Seventh Heaven. It had only been open for three months, but word had spread around like wildfire that this particular bar was run by _her. _Her name was quickly becoming well-known in Midgar, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that--but at least it brought more business. She had worked herself half to death to scrape together the gil and materials necessary to start this place, and she was proud of her work. She had already made enough gil in the months that it had been open to continue to buy supplies for the bar _and _to cover half the expenses it had taken to open it.

Tifa swept her hair behind her ear and surveyed the room with a sigh. This certainly hadn't ever been where she expected to be. Running a bar in the slums of Midgar? Her father was probably rolling over in his grave. Her mother...what would her mother have thought of her sweet baby girl serving alcohol to sweaty, foul-mouthed men who quite often sauntered in with cocky attitudes, thinking maybe they would be the one to "tame Tifa Lockhart?"

Life at eighteen and a half was a lot different than she had imagined it at fifteen and a half. But her fifteen-year-old self had been a naïve dreamer who roamed mountain paths under bright sunlight. Her eighteen-year-old self often wondered if it was possible to dream. The paths she walked were on dirty, dangerous streets, and the giant plate hanging overhead blocked out any sunlight.

The door to the bar opened, admitting yet another world-weary soul probably intent on drowning his troubles in a bottle or in a warm body--even though it wouldn't be hers. Tifa glanced over and paused, and even the other customers fell silent for a moment when they saw the size of the man framing the doorway.

Then the noise picked up again, and Tifa quickly sized the man up as he stepped toward the counter. She knew from experience that appearances certainly weren't everything. Sometimes she could get the dirtiest, smelliest man in Seventh Heaven and he would be the one who talked politely to her, who looked at her eyes and not at her chest, and who tipped her generously. Meanwhile, the well-dressed, smooth-talking fellow beside him could be crude and spend the evening trying to get under her skirt.

Tifa knew her own appearances were deceiving. Young, pretty, usually wearing a miniskirt--it brought her tips, but it also gave people the false impression that she was easy or defenseless. Fortunately for her, as quickly as word had spread around about her and her bar, it had also spread around that she was an expert martial artist and that anyone who caused trouble would be kicked out on their ass.

The man now at the edge of the counter was the largest person she had seen come into Seventh Heaven, with a huge barrel chest and arms three or four times the size of her own. One of those arms was half-prosthetic, but instead of a hand, he had a gun attached. Dark eyes, a scarred face--she pegged him as a fighter in a heartbeat, though his body language suggested he hadn't come in looking for a fight. He just looked tired.

Then she noticed the tiny bundle he held in his real arm. At first she had just thought he had a rough blanket thrown over his shoulder, but the blanket moved and slid down, revealing a small child.

Tifa's eyes softened as the child's head turned. It was a little girl with soft brown hair falling down to her chin and sleepy brown eyes peering out. She looked as though she had just been awakened--probably from all the noise in Seventh Heaven. Her lower lip trembled, and Tifa thought she was going to burst out crying, but instead, she clutched at a small toy and peeked cautiously at Tifa.

Tifa leaned her arms onto the counter and surveyed the man and girl with a friendly smile. "What can I get you?"

"Somethin' strong," the man said gruffly.

Tifa turned and grabbed a bottle of alcohol, pouring a shot into a glass. "I don't usually see kids in here," she said conversationally, smiling again at the little girl. The child hid her face in the man's shoulder.

The man bounced the girl gently in his arm. "Don't need to be shy. Jus' a nice lady here."

Tifa set the man's drink down in front of him. "You new in town?"

"Yeah, jus' got here. Been lookin' for work an' somewhere to live. Got a room for tonight, but I got more lookin' to do tomorrow. Ain't easy, 'specially with a kid. Gets her tired out real fast."

"Just the two of you, then?"

"Yup. Been jus' the two of us for a couple years now. Marlene here's 'bout to turn three." He shifted little Marlene from his real arm to his gun arm so he could pick up his drink and down the shot. The movement made Marlene drop the toy in her hands. It hit Tifa's arm and bounced onto the counter. Marlene's head snapped around, her eyes widening.

Tifa picked up the soft plush toy. It was a butterfly, multi-colored with plastic eyes and a wide, stitched smile. It had been three years since she had seen a real butterfly. She had always loved watching them flutter from flower to flower in Nibelheim, but seeing them had always been something she took for granted. So many things she had taken for granted--the flowers and grass, white clouds and golden sunsets.

"Here you go, sweetie," Tifa said softly, handing the butterfly back to Marlene. "I like your butterfly. It's beautiful."

This time, Marlene didn't hide her face. She held her toy tightly in her arms and smiled shyly at Tifa. Then she wriggled in the man's arms and said, "Papa, I'm thirsty!"

"I have juice," Tifa offered. She used it in some of the mixed drinks.

He nodded, and Tifa turned to try to find a cup--all she had were glasses, nothing kid-friendly. She finally settled on a glass with a wide bottom, then poured some juice into that, also refilling the man's shot glass. "I'm Tifa Lockhart, by the way."

"Barret Wallace. This here's my daughter Marlene." Barret set Marlene on the barstool beside him.

She looked positively tiny in the seat, and she placed her butterfly beside her and carefully picked up the cup of juice with both hands. She managed to drink most of it without spilling, but some of it trickled onto her pink shirt. She tugged on Barret's arm and whispered in dismay, "Papa, I made a mess!"

"'s okay. We'll get ya cleaned up."

Barret stayed in the bar for a while. In between serving other customers, Tifa drew his story out of him. She found out how his hometown of Corel had been destroyed when Marlene was a baby because of the Shinra and the Mako Reactor, and that was something that struck her to her very core. It was something she understood--they shared a very painful foundation in the way both of their hometowns had been destroyed because of Shinra. It wasn't something that she talked about with people; she didn't like to talk about Nibelheim, especially with strangers. But here was someone who knew exactly the kind of loss she had suffered, and she found herself telling him far more than she had ever intended about her own past experiences.

"Somethin' needs to be done 'bout them. About the damn fool Shinra," Barret told her in a low, angry voice, and she couldn't disagree.

When their talking had finally stopped and he was gathering up Marlene to leave, Tifa spoke up. "Mr. Wallace."

"Pshaw, I ain't no mister. Barret," he said firmly.

"Barret. If you want, I can always look after Marlene while you're looking for work and somewhere to live. If you're comfortable with that."

Barret paused and looked at Marlene, propped in one of his arms. "Whaddya say, Marlene? You wanna come see Miss Tifa tomorrow?"

Marlene turned her eyes to Tifa for a moment and then silently held out her butterfly toward her.

Something in Tifa's chest constricted at the gesture, so giving and innocent. She slowly took the butterfly from Marlene, brushed a finger lightly over the soft fuzz on the toy, and smiled. "Thank you, Marlene. I think your pretty butterfly would be happier getting lots of hugs from you, though. How about you hold onto it and when you come to visit me, you can bring your butterfly to visit, too?"

Marlene smiled again and nodded. "Okay."

Tifa tucked the butterfly back into Marlene's arms. "I'll see you and your butterfly tomorrow, then."

**:--:--:**

Tifa carefully poked her needle and thread through Marlene's butterfly. It was old and worn, the colors faded. One of the antennae was missing, and she was sewing up the second rip that the tattered toy had received during the four and a half years since Tifa had first seen Marlene holding it.

The sudden sound of laughter brought Tifa's eyes over to the table where Marlene and Denzel were helping Cloud go through his delivery slips. Both children were laughing and Cloud had a small smile on his face. She watched them contentedly for a moment before returning to stitching up the butterfly.

It was funny how the years could change a person. At twenty-three, she was different than she had been at both fifteen and eighteen, but there were some things that were the same. She wasn't as naïve as she had been at fifteen, but she wasn't as disillusioned as she had been at eighteen. Her dreams might not be as farfetched and lofty as they had been at fifteen, but she had learned how to dream again. The paths she walked now could still be dirty and dangerous, but she quite often saw the sunlight. She might still be running a bar, but this was a different Seventh Heaven and she had plenty of cups that couldn't be broken by children's small hands.

She could have never known that the small girl she met one night in her bar would have ended up being someone she introduced as her daughter. Sometimes the twists and turns life threw at her were amazing and beautiful. The very fact that she could look across the room and see Marlene, Denzel, and Cloud happily spending time together was a testament to that.

She tied off the thread and snipped it neatly before calling, "Marlene."

Marlene looked over, and Tifa held up the butterfly. Beaming, Marlene jumped up from her chair and skipped over, carefully taking it from Tifa. "Thank you, Tifa!"

"You're welcome." Tifa stood up and put away her small sewing kit before walking over to the table to join her family. Cloud pulled up a chair for her and she sat down to be welcomed with their smiles.


	5. Hero

**A/N: **Shout outs to my reviewers: NailoSyanodel, Calenlass Greenleaf1, Azi1987, P.P.V.V, Creative Spark, Valentine'sNinja, KCVII, Amos Whirly, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Sekihara Tae, vx-Luna-xv, Alyde, and San Hayashi.

Thank you so much to NailoSyanodel for the wallpaper she made inspired by the "Butterfly" prompt. ^_^

* * *

_**Hero**_

Denzel set his backpack on the small desk in his and Marlene's room, moving Marlene's crayons out of the way as he settled in the chair. He pulled out his homework sheet and frowned at it. His teacher had handed him the assignment and said, "This one should be a breeze for you, Denzel, given who your guardians are."

He sighed as he stared at the heading: _What Makes a Hero?_ He was used to Cloud and Tifa's hero status, but he never knew how to answer the questions people asked when they found out who was raising him. A very popular question was, "What's it like to live with them?" It had been a couple of years since the day Cloud had brought him to Seventh Heaven. Cloud had always been a hero to him, but the longer Denzel was around him and Tifa, the more his perception of what a real hero was shifted.

When the teacher had given the class this assignment, Denzel had heard ideas from the kids in school about what a hero really was, but there was a lot that they didn't understand. A lot that Denzel hadn't understood at one point in time.

"What are you doing?"

Denzel jumped, his head swiveling to meet Marlene's curious eyes. He hadn't even heard her come in.

She leaned over his shoulder and peered at his homework. "'What makes a hero,'" she read. "Homework essay?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. I guess you need to do this, then. I was going to see if you wanted to play kickball with me and some friends. We're setting up a game outside."

Denzel eyed his paper, then smiled at Marlene. "I can do it in a little bit."

**:--:--:**

_I know a lot of heroes. They've done great things. They fight with swords or guns or fists or other weapons. I've seen them fight to keep me safe. I've seen them fight to keep other people safe. They've defeated bad people and monsters and they've even saved the world._

**:--:--:**

Denzel saw the ball flying straight toward Marlene's face, but it happened too fast for anyone to stop it. With a loud _smack _and a cry from Marlene, the kickball game ended. Several their friends crowded around her, asking if she was okay. Denzel pushed through them and saw the blood spilling out from between Marlene's fingers as she pressed them over her mouth. She wasn't crying loudly, but tears were rolling down her cheeks. He put an arm around her shoulders and called to the other kids, "Gotta go home!"

He led Marlene down the street toward Seventh Heaven. Her shoulders were shaking, and the blood from her mouth was dripping down onto her shirt. As soon as they walked inside the bar, Tifa spotted them and her eyes widened. "Marlene!" She moved around the counter quickly and took charge of Marlene with swift and gentle expertise.

Denzel sank down into a seat at the counter and waited as Tifa took Marlene upstairs. When they came back into the bar, Marlene was wearing clean clothes and holding a cloth over her mouth. Tifa had her sit at the counter next to Denzel and quickly made an ice pack. She handed it to Marlene and said, "Try that."

Marlene swapped the cloth for the ice pack, and Tifa took the bloodied material from her with a sympathetic smile. "Your mouth will be swollen for a couple of days, but you'll be better in no time," Tifa said reassuringly, dropping a kiss onto the top of Marlene's head. Then she ruffled Denzel's hair and said, "Thanks for helping, Denzel."

**:--:--:**

_Except being a hero isn't just about fighting bad guys and saving the world. It's not always about punching the lights out of a monster. It's someone putting bandages on your cuts, and reading bedtime stories, and making dinner for the family. It's someone who tells you it's going to be okay and makes you believe it. It's someone who tucks you into bed even though you're too old for it, even though you lived on the streets by yourself for a long time. Even though you know how to take care of yourself, she takes care of you anyway._

_Sometimes people just see the heroes fighting bad guys and saving the world and they don't see all of the other things heroes do. Sometimes people see these famous heroes at the market and ask how they could really be happy living a normal life after all the great things they've done. Other people ask these heroes why they would want to raise other people's kids when they could be doing so much more with their lives. They don't understand when their heroes say that maybe they want a normal life and that these kids are the most important part of that._

_Sometimes the kids don't always understand, either._

**:--:--:**

"What happened?" Cloud asked the instant he walked in the door and saw Marlene's swollen face. He strode over to the table where Denzel and Marlene were doing their homework and looked closely at her mouth.

"She had a fight with a kickball," Denzel said.

Marlene stuck her tongue out at him, and then grimaced and touched her lower lip. "Tifa says it'll be better in no time," she assured Cloud, hugging him around his waist without standing up.

Cloud gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Where _is_ Tifa?"

Denzel pointed. "In the kitchen."

"Making supper," Marlene added.

Cloud headed to the kitchen to greet Tifa. Denzel and Marlene exchanged smirks before continuing their homework.

They ate dinner--Marlene more slowly and carefully than usual--and after the dishes were cleared from the table, Cloud looked at Denzel. "You ready?"

Denzel nodded excitedly and followed Cloud into the garage. Cloud needed to work on Fenrir's engine and had promised to let Denzel help. Denzel loved time like this, when he could work with Cloud on something--he didn't care if it was sorting delivery slips or watching how Fenrir was put together. He was just happy to be involved.

**:--:--:**

_Being a hero isn't always about sticking a sword into a crazy lunatic that wants to destroy the planet. It's someone helping you with homework and teaching you about engines. It's someone who has time for you everyday even when he has really busy days. It's someone who tells you that if you try your best it might not seem like enough to you, but it is. And it's someone who can mean it when he says it because once he thought his best couldn't ever be good enough. _

_Even though it was. _

**:--:--:**

Well after bedtime, Denzel slipped out of bed to go get Marlene some more ice. She was having a hard time falling asleep because her mouth was sore, but she didn't want to bother Tifa.

It was dark downstairs, only a dim light left on in the living room. He crept into the kitchen and wrapped some ice in a cloth as he'd seen Tifa do earlier before turning to walk back upstairs. He glanced into the living room as he walked by, pausing in the doorway when he saw Cloud and Tifa on the couch. Cloud was stretched out on his back, his head propped up on one side of the couch and his feet on the other. Tifa was curled up beside him, one leg flung over his and her head on his shoulder. They had been watching a movie, but it was over and the television was just broadcasting snow.

Denzel tiptoed across the room and turned off the television. He smiled at his sleeping guardians, switched off the light, and then headed back upstairs to take the ice pack to Marlene.

**:--:--:**

_I've known a lot of heroes in my life. Not all of them were people who carry swords or wear leather gloves. Some of them were people who gave me food or clothes or shelter for a while. Some of them are dead now._

_All kinds of people can be heroes. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that even the famous heroes have lives and families and things they want to do. Things that don't have anything to do with fighting monsters and villains. _

_Even they need people in their lives, people that they can talk to and laugh with and who love them because they're just them, not because they carry a sword or a pair of fighting gloves. They're the ones who love you no matter what you do, just because of who you are._

_I think all of that is what makes a real hero. _

**:--:--:**

"Denzel! We've gotta leave for school!" Marlene called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Denzel shouted back. He scribbled his name on top of his essay, shoved it into his backpack, and ran for the stairs. He wasn't sure if it was as long as his teacher expected--or if it would be what his teacher expected at all--but he didn't care. He'd said everything he needed to. Besides, Tifa always said that sometimes it was good for people's expectations to be shaken up a bit.

Maybe this homework paper would help someone else realize that world-famous heroes were just people too--people with hopes and dreams of their own. The difference was that they were willing to step outside of that and fight for other people's hopes and dreams, too.


	6. Substance

**A/N: **Thank you again to my reviewers: Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Calenlass Greenleaf, P.P.V.V, NailoSyanodel, Creative Spark, kitsune13, KCVII, Alyde, Valentine'sNinja, GettinHotWithJC, Amos Whirly, Azi1987, vx-Luna-xv, MyfinalfantasyVII, Sigbru, Kainos Ktisis, Ylandel, scienceguy, Stryper, and CallMeClandestine.

* * *

_**Substance**_

When Reeve had asked Tifa to take a trip to Corel to help out with a situation involving some orphans, she had agreed to go. Cloud understood why Reeve would entrust a task like that to Tifa. She'd taken it upon herself to work on finding homes for as many orphans as she could in Edge; it was only a matter of time before that spread to other towns. She had closed Seventh Heaven for three days, and Cloud had postponed some of his deliveries, scheduling only the ones he could finish while Marlene and Denzel were in school.

Cloud had nodded his way through a flurry of last-minute details from Tifa, then kissed her and assured her it would be fine. It was only for a few days, after all. Surely he, Denzel, and Marlene could get through three days alone without any severe mishaps.

The first day had gone just fine. Cloud made some deliveries, picked the kids up from school, and warmed up the dinner Tifa had left in the fridge. Homework was completed and the kids went to bed on time. The second day went fairly well; the only real mishap was when he tried to cook the potatoes for dinner that night. All three potatoes literally exploded in the oven, and he wasn't sure why, so he gave the kids some leftover pie with their dinner instead of the potatoes. The pies had fruit in them, after all--they couldn't be that unhealthy, right?

Everything probably would have gone smoothly had Marlene not come home from school the third day and announced that she needed two hundred chocobo-shaped cookies to take to school the next morning.

Cloud stared at her as if she had just started jabbering in Wutaian (something she did on occasion, thanks to all the time spent around Yuffie). "What?"

"We're having a party tomorrow, and Lisse's aunt was supposed to make the chocobo cookies, but she got sick and had to go to the hospital, so my teacher asked if someone else could bring the cookies," Marlene said proudly.

And Marlene had volunteered? Cloud sighed inwardly. Of course she had.

"It's okay!" Marlene assured Cloud. "I've helped Tifa make them before! I know where the recipe is and how to use the cookie cutters on the dough!"

"Marlene…"

"Pleeeease, Cloud? We can do it; I know we can!" Marlene sounded uncannily like Tifa.

"I can help cut out cookies," Denzel offered.

Cloud wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. "Okay." Two hundred cookies? It couldn't be _that _hard. If he could modify a motorcycle, wield a six-piece sword, run a business, and be responsible for raising two children, surely he could make cookies.

Marlene had already darted off to the kitchen, and she returned waving a piece of paper triumphantly in her hand. "Here's the recipe!"

Cloud took it from her and skimmed the ingredients written in Tifa's neat handwriting. This recipe said it made thirty cookies--so all he had to do was make seven times that and he'd have more than enough dough.

They got out the largest bowl in the kitchen and began pulling out the ingredients. That was when Cloud started running into problems. It hadn't been so terribly long ago that he hadn't even known the names of a lot of vegetables, and now he was hunting down ingredients that he'd only ever seen on a grocery list. The only times he had even had contact with said ingredients was when he picked them up in bulk for Tifa, and even then he hadn't a clue what they were--he just knew they came packaged in boxes and containers.

He stared at the recipe. It was even more gibberish to him than when the kids spoke Wutaian in front of him.

_1 TBL milk. _

What the hell was a TBL? Abbreviations for something, obviously, but what? And just underneath it read: _1 Tsp bicarbonate of soda. _

_Tsp? And what is bicarbonate of soda? _Cloud continued to scan down the ingredient list. Cream of tartar? Tartar…they had tartar sauce; Tifa used it when she cooked fish. What would tartar sauce be doing in a cookie recipe?

Cloud felt pretty idiotic asking a seven-year-old, "Marlene, what's a TBL?"

Marlene shrugged. "I don't know. I just help roll out the dough. But this is what Tifa uses to measure her ingredients." She opened a drawer in the kitchen, revealing numerous cups and spoons of various sizes. They had been labeled at one point, but the words and markings were scratched and worn. The only reason Cloud knew they must have been labeled was because he found one cup that showed a very faded marking: 1/4.

1/4 of what? A cup? A Tsp? A TBL?

"A TBL is a spoon," Denzel said, peering into the drawer. He pulled out one of the spoons and squinted at it. "I think a Tsp is a big spoon and a TBL is a little one. These are the different size cups." He pointed at the one that read "1/4" and the other ones like it.

Marlene smiled up at Cloud reassuringly. "See? We can do it. I'll get the flour and sugar, okay?"

Another inward sigh. "Okay." He guessed this was just a part of having kids. Just not the part he usually did. Helping with homework, sure. Teaching defense against bullies? No problem. Baking cookies for a school party? No. Just…no.

Part of him was tempted to call Tifa and ask _her _how the hell to do this, but she was probably busy--and he didn't want her to think he couldn't handle it. He had defeated Sephiroth--more than once, damn it. He wasn't about to let cookies get the best of him.

Pressing his mouth together in determination, Cloud began hunting in the cupboards for the remaining ingredients. Denzel got the tartar sauce, milk, and eggs out of the fridge, while Marlene opened the large barrels of flour and sugar.

It was obvious that they weren't going to be able to fit seven times the ingredients for this recipe into one bowl, so Cloud decided to do one batch at a time. As they began to add ingredients, Cloud thought they did fairly well with the cups--if the one that had "1/4" on it was actually one-fourth of a cup, then it was easy to figure out the other ingredients that called for measurements in cups. The spoons were a bit trickier; they were different sizes, but there wasn't a huge gap in how big or small they were, so he picked one that was a medium size and used that for anything that read "Tsp" or "TBL." It couldn't make that much difference which one was used, being that the spoons were so small anyway.

Once they had the first batch of dough mixed together--and Cloud was very pleased to realize that it was actually doughy--Marlene and Denzel began rolling it out while Cloud looked at the recipe again.

_Heat oven to 350. Bake for 12 minutes._

That part was easy. Cloud turned on the oven and went to help Marlene and Denzel, who were now attacking the dough with chocobo-shaped cookie cutters and setting them on pans. Unfortunately, each pan only held ten cookies, and he could only fit two pans in the oven. Which meant that to get all two hundred plus the extra cookies baked, it would take him _hours._

"This is going to take forever," Denzel said.

"You could make the oven hotter, right?" Marlene suggested. "Then it would take less time to cook."

Cloud was tempted to try that, but then realized it was probably wisest to follow the recipe as best he could.

_If Yuffie saw me right now she'd never let me live it down, _Cloud thought morosely as he shoved cookie trays into the oven. He then turned and surveyed the kitchen. It was a disaster. Everything was covered in flour--including him and the kids. He gazed down at his leather vest resignedly. There was just something wrong with this picture. He was supposed to be covered in engine grease, not baking flour.

Marlene threw her arms around his waist. "Thank you for doing this, Cloud!"

He patted her shoulder and mumbled, "Yeah."

They had scarcely left the kitchen and gone into the bar so the kids could start their homework when the smell hit Cloud's nose. He turned toward the kitchen as Denzel sniffed and said, "Do you smell smoke?"

They hurried back to the kitchen. The oven was indeed smoking. Cloud yanked it open and stared in dismay at the horrible mess within--the cookies were no longer cookies. They had puffed up hugely and melted into one another, and the dough had expanded so much that it was dripping off the pans and starting to burn onto the bottom of the oven.

"That's not how they're supposed to look," Marlene said, coughing and waving her hand in front of her face.

Cloud turned off the oven and yanked the pans out, setting them on the counter. Dough continued to drop off of them, making more of a mess of the counter.

That was when the smoke detector in the kitchen decided to go off, screeching out its loud beeping warning.

_Great. Cookies, one. Me, zero. _

"What _happened _here?"

Cloud swiveled to see Tifa standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her eyes drifting over the three of them, the smoking oven, the pans on the counter, and absolute wreck that was the rest of the kitchen.

She couldn't have had worse timing.

"Tifa!" Marlene flung herself on Tifa, promptly getting flour and bits of dough on Tifa's clothes. "We're trying to make chocobo cookies, but I think we did something wrong."

Cloud grabbed the smoke detector and switched it off. Absolute silence fell for a moment, and then Tifa raised her eyebrows at Cloud. "Chocobo cookies?"

"For school tomorrow," Cloud muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Marlene volunteered to bring two hundred of them."

"For a party!" Marlene piped up. "Lisse's aunt was going to bring them, but she got sick, so Cloud said he'd help me with them, and Denzel knew what a TBL was so we made the dough and it _looks _good, but for some reason the cookies didn't really...cook."

Tifa's eyebrows rose further and she was eyeing Cloud now with a look both amused and sympathetic.

"I think maybe we added too much tartar sauce," Denzel added as he slipped in to hug Tifa around the waist.

Tifa stared at all of them for a full five seconds before she echoed, "Tartar sauce?" The tone of her voice suggested she was struggling not to laugh. She smiled at the kids. "Why don't you two go play outside for a little while? I'll call you in when dinner's ready." She waited until the kids had run outside before she turned to Cloud, her lips twitching in mirth. "Don't you look fetching."

"I was going to have it clean before you came home."

Tifa stepped closer and hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace, feeling the tension in her muscles and wondering if it was his fault, since she had come home from a three-day trip to _this_. "How was your trip?" he asked.

"Long. I mean, it felt a lot longer than it really was. I'll tell you about it later; right now I'm just glad to be home." Her arms tightened around him. "To a messy kitchen or a clean one." She really did start giggling then, and pulled back to look at him. "Okay, I have to ask--why did you guys put tartar sauce in the dough?"

Cloud sighed. "The recipe called for cream of tartar."

Her giggles became full-out laughter, and when he frowned, trying not to be offended, she grasped his arm and calmed herself. "I'm sorry; I'm not laughing at you."

Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows, and she amended, "Okay, I'm laughing at what you did a little bit, but I think it was really, really great of you to do this for Marlene." She moved over to the counter where the dough had finally stopped dripping off of the pans. She grabbed a potholder and lifted one of the pans to reveal a nice, dark scorch mark left behind on the counter.

Cloud resisted the urge to bang his head on something. Repeatedly. Not only had he made a disaster of the kitchen, but he'd left permanent marks on the counter, which would remind them both of this incident every time they saw them.

Tifa's face softened when she saw the frustration on his face. "Cloud, it's fine. For never having read a recipe before, let alone baked anything, you could have done a lot worse."

Cloud just looked at her doubtfully, but she was busy scraping the ruined dough off of the pans and into the trash. He watched her for a moment, seeing her calm demeanor and the hint of a smile on her face. Then he relaxed slightly and moved to start cleaning up the mess on the counters. He was glad to have her home, too. It was kind of ironic; once upon a time, he hadn't hesitated to take on jobs that took him away from Seventh Heaven for several days at a time. Once upon a time, he had walked out of their lives for several weeks, when he was dying of Geostigma and consumed in guilt. Now the times when he was away from them even overnight, all he wanted to do was get back home to them. It looked like it worked the same way when Tifa left them for a few days.

"Cloud?" Tifa was peering into the oven now. "Why are there bits of potato all over the oven?" She glanced back at him. "Did you put potatoes in there without poking holes in them?"

He paused and looked at her with some trepidation. "Is that why they exploded?"

Tifa choked back another laugh and stood up. "Oh, Cloud. I don't know what I'd do without you." She leaned over and kissed him gently on the mouth. "Thank you."

Cloud blinked at her in bafflement. _Thank you?_ All he'd done was blow up potatoes and create a non-edible expanding substance while burning her counter and destroying her kitchen.

He shook his head and continued cleaning, a faint smile on his lips. He might not always understand Tifa, but sometimes he thought that wasn't a bad thing at all. He didn't know what he'd do without her, either.


	7. Try

**A/N: **Thanks again to everyone who reviewed: Ritsu-San, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, San Hayashi, Valentine'sNinja, Calenlass Greenleaf, P.P.V.V, NailoSyanodel, sam, Alyde, KCVII, Amos Whirly, macalaniaprincess, Creative Spark, DJ, and vx-Luna-xv.

* * *

_**Try**_

Tifa had already said good night to the kids, leaving it to Cloud to make sure they brushed their teeth and got into bed while she cleaned up the bar. Once she had put the dishes away, she headed upstairs, pausing outside Marlene and Denzel's bedroom door when she heard Marlene ask Cloud for a story about a pirate and a monster.

Tifa suppressed a smile as Cloud began with a very articulate, "Uhh…"

"Most stories start with 'a long time ago, in a very distant land,'" Marlene said helpfully.

"Wouldn't you rather Tifa told you a story?" Cloud asked doubtfully.

Tifa shook her head, amused, and Marlene replied, "Tifa always says if we don't know how to do something, we should try and try until we learn how."

"Maybe he doesn't want to learn how to tell these kinds of stories," Denzel pointed out. "He fights monsters all the time. He could just tell us stories about that."

"No, I want a pirate story," Marlene stated. "Cloud?"

There was a pause, and then Cloud said, "A pirate. Okay. Um…there was--wait. A long time ago, in a very distant land, there was a pirate. And, um, he--"

"She!" Marlene interrupted. Tifa heard the squeaking of a bed, as if Marlene was bouncing on it--which she probably was.

"She," Cloud corrected. "Uh, she had a boat?"

"An airship," Denzel put in.

"And she flew her airship around and…pirated," Cloud continued slowly.

"You're not very good at this, you know," Marlene said kindly.

Cloud's reply was wry. "I know."

"Didn't your parents ever tell you bedtime stories?"

Tifa leaned against the wall, her temple resting against the cool plaster. Cloud didn't speak for a moment, but then he finally responded. "My mother read me some stories. It was a long time ago."

"That's okay. Denzel and I can tell you a story tonight, and then maybe you can tell us one tomorrow!"

Tifa remained where she was, listening to Marlene and Denzel weave an adventure full of pirates on an airship, a clash with a ninja, a pile of gold, a ghost and a dragon, and a sword-wielding robot.

When Cloud finally came out of the kids room, shutting the door most of the way, he didn't look surprised to see Tifa. He gazed at her and then gave a sort of shrug, as if to tell her he'd done his best.

Tifa pulled away from the wall and stretched. "Some people are born storytellers. Some people are just--"

"Me?"

"Not everyone is good at everything."

"I'm not good at a lot of things," Cloud said dryly.

"You're not looking at the upside of it. There are _plenty _of things that you're good at." Tifa wound her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his collarbone.

His muscles tightened; Tifa wasn't sure if Cloud would ever really get used to sudden human contact. It always seemed to take him by surprise at first. He quickly relaxed, though, his arms going back around her. "Aren't you supposed to be telling me to keep trying?" His fingers grazed the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Okay," she said willingly, tilting her head slightly. Cloud's mouth brushed against her jaw and she closed her eyes, her fingers tightening on his vest. "Um, keep trying?"

"That was convincing."

Marlene's sleepy voice came suddenly from the bedroom beside them. "Tifa? Cloud? If you're gonna do your married-people-smooching stuff, could you do it somewhere _quieter?_"

Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances, and Tifa suppressed a laugh. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she said, "Shall we take our 'smooching stuff' somewhere else?"

The tiniest smile tugged on the corners of Cloud's mouth, and he lifted Tifa off her feet, carrying her toward their bedroom. "Just as long as you don't tell me this is one of those things I need to keep trying to," he murmured against her ear.

"Mm, no." Tifa kicked the bedroom door shut as soon as Cloud had her inside. "I don't think you need to worry about this one at all."


	8. Goodbye

**A/N: **Thanks again to everyone who reviewed: kitsune13, NailoSyanodel, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Fairheartstrife, Creative Spark, Ritsu-San, sam, Valentine'sNinja, Evelina, KCVII, Forget and Forgive, Calenlass Greenleaf, Amos Whirly, Iskra revoir, Milvus, vx-Luna-xv, MyfinalfantasyVII, Sigbru, and P.P.V.V.

This one focuses on Denzel and Marlene. I've never tried writing them when they're older, mostly because I wasn't really sure how I saw them when they were older. However, after conversations with a couple of people the past few days, I woke up this morning knowing exactly how I saw them when they're older and this came to mind. It wasn't what I intended to write for a prompt, but my muse wouldn't leave me alone until I'd written it.

* * *

_**Goodbye**_

Denzel wasn't surprised to hear the knocking on his bedroom door after Seventh Heaven was closed for the night and everyone had gone to bed. Nor was he surprised when the door opened and Marlene slipped inside without invitation. "You asleep?" she whispered, quietly closing the door behind herself.

"No." Denzel sat up in bed and watched as Marlene crept over to the bunk bed on the opposite side of the room, where Cloud and Tifa's son was fast asleep. It would take a monster attacking Seventh Heaven to wake him up, so Denzel wasn't worried about talking.

Marlene tugged Zack's blanket up over his shoulders and then walked over to Denzel's bed, lifting up his covers and slipping in to sit beside him. She leaned her head back against the headboard, her shoulder bumping against his. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you here," she said softly.

Denzel tugged a stand of her hair. "Finish school. Punch out the guys who try to flirt with you in the bar. Don't flirt back."

Marlene turned a wry smile on him. "Says the guy who has a girlfriend who's going _with _him. I'm sixteen, Denzel."

"Exactly. You have plenty of time left."

"Don't worry; I'm not in a hurry." Marlene poked him. "Besides, do you know what any guy dating me is going to face?"

"Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, me…"

"If anyone actually survives all that, then maybe one day I'll have a chance at getting married. I'm probably going to have to elope." Marlene's light tone faded and her shoulders slumped. "It's going to be weird without you here."

"It's only for a year, Marlene. And Cosmo Canyon's not far by airship. Besides, you know you'll come to visit and probably call me every day."

"Every _other _day," Marlene replied emphatically. "The in between days, you're going to call _me _so I know you haven't forgotten me."

Denzel laughed. "You know I couldn't forget you."

"Still."

"Okay, deal. As long as you promise not to elope while I'm gone."

"I'll wait until you're back." Marlene grinned cheekily at him and he rolled his eyes. "You know, you could have picked an occupation that didn't take you so far away for training."

"What can I say? All the kids around here helped me really decide. Blame Cloud and Tifa for always having so many come in and out of Seventh Heaven."

"The kids will blame _you _when you're the one teaching history to them in school one day, I'm sure."

Marlene was trying hard to sound lighthearted, but Denzel couldn't miss the forlorn tone that lay beneath her words. "I'm going to come back," he assured her.

"I know. But even when you get back, you won't be _here._ You'll get married--you know you will--and it's just never going to be the same again." She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand finding his.

Denzel folded his fingers through Marlene's. "I'll miss you, too," he murmured.

There was a small sniffle from Marlene, almost too quiet to hear, as her fingers tightened on his.

**:--:--:**

When Denzel woke the next morning, it was to find the bunk bed empty of kids and the bedroom door open. Marlene was still beside him, her hair flung in his face. As expected, she had stolen his blankets and most of his pillow. She had always taken over the bed, ever since they were little and she would sneak into his bed when she had a nightmare or knew he was afraid because of a thunderstorm.

He pushed her long hair out of his face and sat up slowly, rubbing a hand across his eyes. He could hear familiar noises from downstairs--Tifa's voice mixed in with chatter and laughter from Zack.

Denzel closed his eyes and just listened. It was going to be strange to wake up in the morning without hearing this. Weird not walking with Marlene to school, organizing maps and delivery slips for Cloud, washing dishes for Tifa, playing with Zack, going on family outings…

He opened his eyes and smiled wistfully. He knew that Marlene wasn't going to be the only one calling him. Tifa would undoubtedly be sending care packages; the kids would send pictures and paintings. Denzel also suspected Cloud would go out of his way to make more deliveries to Cosmo Canyon.

Denzel got out of bed without waking Marlene. He gathered up clothes and went to take a shower, then packed his last few belongings into his old backpack, faded and worn from years of use at school. All the rest of his stuff was already on board the airship that would soon be heading for Cosmo Canyon.

When he was ready, he shook Marlene's shoulder, and her eyes blinked open. She looked at him in sleepy confusion and then realization dawned on her face. "You're going," she whispered.

He nodded. She slid out of bed and they went downstairs together, Marlene in her pajama pants and tank top and Denzel with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Tifa was setting breakfast on the table--funnel cakes, fresh fruit, eggs and sausage--all of Denzel's favorites. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek as she handed him a plate.

"Thank you." Denzel took the plate to the table and sat down between Cloud and Zack.

Tifa stood beside the table and smiled around at all of them for a moment before going to get her own breakfast.

In what seemed like no time at all, breakfast was over and Denzel was saying his goodbyes. He hugging Zack tightly and told him to listen to Mom and Dad, and receiving a farewell gifts from him--a model airship that he had been working on all week.

Then Tifa had him in her arms, as she had so many times over the years, loving and protecting him from the day that Cloud had carried him into Seventh Heaven. He rested his cheek on top of her head for a moment and swallowed hard. "Thank you," he told her, and the words didn't seem sufficient, could never be enough after everything she had given him. But when she looked up and smiled, eyes sparkling with tears, he knew she didn't see it that way.

"I love you," she told him, cupping his face with her hands. "Be safe."

Cloud was next, with a firm hug and a tight grip on Denzel's forearm as Denzel locked eyes with the man who had been hero and father to him, who had taught him that mistakes could be forgiven and that promises could be kept. "I'm proud of you," he told Denzel now, and the lump in Denzel's throat was so thick he wasn't even sure he could swallow anymore.

Marlene was last. She flung her arms around him, face pressed to his neck. He could feel her tears on his skin and he tightened his arms around her, his best friend, the one with whom he had shared so much life and laughter, jokes and teasing, tears and pain. She was the one to finally pull away, stretching up on tiptoes so she could press a kiss to his forehead. "Call when you get there," she whispered, brushing her hand across her cheek to wipe away stray tears.

Denzel hitched his backpack up on his shoulder and hailed a taxi while they called last minute instructions to him to eat well, take care of his girlfriend, tell Nanaki hello… He grinned as he climbed into the back of the car. His eyes remained on them, waving back at them as they stood outside Seventh Heaven, watching him go.

He'd be back--maybe not to live in Seventh Heaven, but that was just how life was. Change was part of life, but he knew that no matter what, the ties that he had with his family could never be broken.


	9. Morph

**A/N: **Thanks again to everyone who reviewed: Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, P.P.V.V, Fairheartstrife, Ylandel, KCVII, Creative Spark, Valentine'sNinja, NailoSyanodel, Calenlass Greenleaf, Sigbru, and Nymphadora.

* * *

_**Morph**_

When Cloud arrived home late at night after a long day of deliveries, everyone was already in bed. Tifa had left a light on in the bar for him--not that he needed it to see, but it was her habit to leave a light burning for him. It was her silent way of telling him that she was always waiting for him to come home.

Tonight, the light illuminated a cage sitting on the bar counter. Cloud walked over to it and peered inside. Was that a _hamster_? He frowned at it in confusion, trying to figure out under what circumstances Tifa would ever let a rodent--caged or not--into her bar.

The little beast looked at him with beady eyes and Cloud tensed. His own experiences with small, seemingly-innocent animals over the years had not been pleasant. When he was eight, mice had gotten inside his house in Nibelheim and had given his mother nothing but grief for two months as she did everything she possibly could to exterminate them, including bringing a cat into the house. The cat had, for some reason, taken an extreme dislike to Cloud and had shown that dislike by randomly jumping onto his head from bookshelves or tables and clawing at his face.

Plus, there were always those little bastard frogs out in the wilderness that had the ability to morph a person, which was never a fun experience. He would take being blind, silenced, and poisoned over being morphed any day.

The thing in the cage was apparently uninterested in Cloud and turned back to munching on some piece of vegetation. Giving it one last dubious look, Cloud turned off the light in the bar and made his way upstairs. Denzel and Marlene were sound asleep in their beds. Tifa was sleeping, too, but as always, she woke as soon as he set foot in the room. "Hi," she murmured sleepily, eyes cracking open as she watched him take off his boots and shirt.

He climbed into bed beside her and lifted his arm so she could snuggle up against him. "Hi." When Tifa was settled with her limbs entangled with his and her head on his shoulder, he dropped his arm back around her, watching her eyes drift closed again. Before she could fall all the way asleep, he asked, "Uh, why is there a rodent in a cage downstairs?"

A smile flickered across her face. "It was Marlene's turn to bring the class pet home for the weekend."

"You're sure it's safe?" Cloud asked cautiously.

Tifa laughed. "Yes. It's just a hamster, Cloud. If it was a frog, I'd be worried. The kids had it in their room, but it was making too much noise for them to sleep, so we put it downstairs for the night." She wiggled a little to get more comfortable. "Don't worry; it'll still be a normal hamster in the morning."

The next morning, Cloud and Tifa woke up to Marlene jumping onto their bed, calling loudly, "Cloud! Tifa!"

They both bolted upright, Cloud instinctively reaching for a sword that wasn't on his back, while Tifa's hands curled into fists. When they realized it was just Marlene, they both relaxed slightly.

"Marlene, what's wrong?" Tifa asked.

"Joji is missing!"

"Jo--" Cloud began, but then realization dawned. "The hamster?"

"Yes!" Marlene twisted her hands together in distress. "The cage door was open! I guess maybe it didn't latch all the way when I fed Joji last night! Denzel's putting some of his favorite vegetables around the bar so maybe he'll come out and eat them, but we've been waiting and looking for an _hour _and we haven't seen him at _all!_ What am I going to do? I have to take care of him and I can't because he's _gone_!"

Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances, and Cloud swung out of bed, grabbing a shirt out of his drawer and tugging it over his head. He headed for the door, Marlene anxiously on his heels. He did _not _like the idea of some little…_thing _being loose in his home. At all.

Still, as much as they all searched, the little animal eluded them. Cloud had to leave on deliveries when Tifa opened the bar, but even when he arrived home just before closing time, Tifa told him there had been no sign of the rodent all day.

"Hamsters are nocturnal, though. Maybe we can catch it tonight," Tifa said hopefully.

Yes, just how he wanted to spend his night. Hamster hunting.

Cloud and Tifa lost several hours of sleep that night trying to bait and catch the damn thing, again with no success. By Monday morning, Cloud wondered if it had just found a way out of Seventh Heaven and was gone for good. Marlene was desolate as she got ready for school, telling Tifa that now the teacher would never trust her with anything again. She was almost in tears as she picked up the empty cage to take it back to school. Denzel assured her that he would go with her to talk to her teacher, and Marlene said, "Thank you, Denzel, but…this is my mistake. I have to fix it." She straightened and took a deep breath, suddenly looking nothing less than a little warrior ready to go into battle.

He and Tifa really were rubbing off on her.

Marlene's teacher sent home a note with her that afternoon, telling Cloud and Tifa how impressed she was with Marlene's willingness to take responsibility for her actions. It didn't really help Marlene feel better about losing the hamster in the first place, but she said, "I said I would buy a new hamster for the class. I'll use my own gil, don't worry!"

Cloud thought that would be the end of it all, especially because he didn't see a sign of the hamster over the next couple of weeks. He always kept a wary eye out, prepared to be faced with those empty, beady little eyes.

Just when he thought he was safe, one night he came home and was about to switch off the light that Tifa had left on when he saw it. He froze, staring at the floor, where the hamster was sniffing around. If it could find _anything _on the floor to eat after Tifa's nightly sweeping and mopping, Cloud would be surprised.

Then he frowned. Had it been that _small_ before?

No, it hadn't. The hamster Marlene had brought home had been much bigger and chubby and--

_Oh, damn._

Cloud grabbed one of Tifa's bar glasses off the shelf, planning on plunking it over the hamster before it had a chance to flee. After that, he had no idea what to do with it. Take it to the local animal shop? Send it to school with Marlene to give to her teacher, even though Joji the hamster had already been replaced?

Cloud heard footsteps on the stairs and glanced over his shoulder to see Tifa standing there, rubbing her arms. She looked in confusion at him and the glass he was holding upside down. "Cloud? Are you okay?"

He held up a hand toward her, indicating she wait, and then jumped forward and trapped the hamster underneath the cup.

Now with an expression of total bafflement, Tifa walked forward until she could see what Cloud was doing. Then her eyes widened and she crouched in front of the glass-trapped-hamster. "You found Joji! Wait. That's…not Joji."

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. "I noticed."

"Oh, you have to be kidding me…"

"Nope. I don't think Joji was actually a _he. _I think it was a very pregnant _she._" And they were staring at Joji Junior. Or Joji the third. Or fourth. How many babies did a hamster have, anyway?

"Cloud, this is terrible! Do you know how fast hamsters mate?" Tifa straightened.

"Can't be any faster than mice." Cloud quickly looked at her. "_Don't _suggest we get a cat."

"I wasn't going to." Tifa pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Let's just put it in something for tonight. Don't we have a couple of old cages in the garage? We can deal with it all in the morning."

When the hamster was safely locked up for the night, Cloud and Tifa went upstairs. "At least they're not crazy frogs that morph everything they touch," Tifa said optimistically.

Cloud gave her a look as he tugged down the covers on their bed. "Yeah. Say that when our house explodes with hamsters." Still, given a choice between invading hamsters or the frogs, he'd still take the hamsters. He sank down onto the bed. "We're going to spend the next month finding hamsters all over the place. Just watch."

Tifa groaned. "I know." She paused. "Marlene and Denzel will probably take it as an opportunity to start selling them to their friends."

"If Marlene or Denzel ever have another 'bring a pet home weekend,' the answer is _never again._"


	10. Stay

**A/N:** Thank you so much to kitsune13, xoVanilla-Bean, KCVII, NailoSyanodel, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Valentine'sNinja, Calenlass Greenleaf, vanillacookiesxD, Amos Whirly, Ritsu-San, Sigbru, Creative Spark, Sekihara Tae, strifegirl27, P.P.V.V, MyfinalfantasyVII, vx-Luna-xv, and 1080 for reviewing!

* * *

_**Stay**_

Cloud had been home for a week and it still seemed somewhat of a novelty. It was all completely familiar, the smell of the building, the sounds of the bar during the day, the pictures on the walls, the faces around him. At the same time, it was all different. The sickness and pain was gone and the sound of laughter came more often than it had before. _He _was different.

He could hear the sounds of the bar downstairs dissipating as Tifa's customers finished their drinks and began to head out so she could close up for the night. Cloud would have gone downstairs to help her clean, but he was trapped beneath a pile of limbs. The nights he didn't have deliveries, the kids wanted to be near him, and the nights he did have deliveries, they kept themselves awake until he got home. Tifa said that they had just missed him and wanted to spend time with him, but he knew that they also just needed reassurance that he was there to stay. Tonight, he had willingly sat with both of them on his cot to listen to them chatter about their day. He hadn't really expected both kids to fall asleep on him, but Marlene was sprawled across his lap with her arm curled around his back, and Denzel was slumped half on Cloud's shoulder and half on Marlene's back.

Cloud's maps and delivery slips were still scattered on his desk; something else he needed to get done tonight. He looked down at the two sleeping kids. It was something else that could wait.

He brushed Denzel's hair back from his forehead--a forehead that was unmarred and untainted, completely clear of the black pus that had been present since the day Cloud had found him collapsed beside his motorcycle. Denzel stirred a little, causing Marlene to shift and jam her elbow into Cloud's side. He wiggled his fingers under her elbow, hoping to nudge it out of the way, but she only dug it in deeper and made Denzel move again, this time positioned with his knee in Cloud's stomach.

Cloud gave up and just sat still as the sounds of voices from downstairs ceased entirely, soon followed by noises of Tifa washing dishes. Before long, there were footsteps on the stairs, and she stopped in front of Cloud's office door. She took in the sight of Cloud pinned to the bed by the kids and broke into a smile. "Wait right there," she said softly, as if he really could go anywhere.

Tifa hurried off and returned with the camera. "Smile," she said lightly.

"Tifa…" Cloud blinked as the camera flashed several times.

Tifa snapped pictures from several different angles. Grinning, she set the camera on his desk and moved to the side of the cot that Marlene was occupying. She lifted Marlene's legs and slid under them, her arm pressing against Cloud's. "You could have just put them in bed."

"I didn't want to wake them." And…it was nice. It was nice to sit here with their small, warm bodies snuggled up against him. It was a tangible reminder that they were safe, that they were alive, that they were content. Proof that for once, he hadn't failed them because they were all _here_. Sometimes he needed that reminder just as much as the kids did.

Cloud glanced at Tifa, who was watching him with knowing eyes, her gaze saying that understood the fear and relief and need. She lifted a hand and grazed his cheek with her fingertips, and her touch was somehow both tentative and assured. It might not have seemed much, but it told Cloud what Tifa had always told him, in her words, her glances, her gestures and touches--that she was always there, that she would never leave. She had stayed with him through more than most people could ever fathom, let alone actually do.

Cloud's face still tingled where Tifa had touched it when she moved her hand down to take the ribbon and ties carefully out of Marlene's hair. She unwove Marlene's braid and smoothed her fingers through the wavy locks, then rested one hand on each child and leaned against Cloud's shoulder.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that before he realized Tifa had fallen asleep, too. He covered the hand Tifa had on Denzel's arm with his own, curling his fingers around hers. Tifa made a small noise in the back of her throat, flipping her palm up to grasp his hand in return. She turned her head, breathing a sigh against his neck, her chin now resting completely on his shoulder.

Cloud had heard people say that no one really knew what they had until it was gone, but that had never been a problem for him. He'd lost enough already to know exactly what he had and how amazing it was. He also knew how close he had come to losing it all. To losing them. And it was _more_ than nice to sit here with all of them, to be able to be the one that they could lean on and not just the one who needed. It was ironic, really, that this was his life. Having kids had just not been on his list of life goals. A couple of years ago, he'd barely ever been around a child, let alone known what to do with one. Now this--this was all that mattered. So he remained where he was, though he still had work to do and though he wasn't tired, because at that moment all he wanted to do was stay there and have the reassurance that this was still real.

Even with Denzel's knee in his stomach, Marlene's elbow poking into his side, and Tifa's chin digging into his shoulder, eventually he, too, succumbed to sleep.

When he woke early in the morning, they were all still there with him.


	11. Tragedy

**A/N: **Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed: Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Calenlass Greenleaf, Stryper, Amos Whirly, Creative Spark, scienceguy, Drink. Juice, pockybandits89, Asterxia Sy, NailoSyanodel, KCVII, 1080, vx-Luna-xv, and P.P.V.V

The subject of this one-shot is written quite a lot by many authors who write Tifa, and I never had and I wanted to try my own take on it. The inspiration for this came from listening to CalikoKat's piano rendition of the song "Falling Slowly" on youtube. It set the mood for what I wrote.

* * *

_**Tragedy**_

"Tifa!" Denzel called from downstairs. "There's someone at the door!"

Tifa set the laundry basket full of clean clothes down beside Cloud's dresser and went downstairs. Denzel was standing in front of the open front door, while Marlene perched on a barstool, peering curiously at their visitor.

"Thank you, Denzel." Tifa took his place at the door and looked at the man with the clipboard standing there. "Can I help you? We open in an hour--"

"I got your piano here." The man jabbed his thumb over his shoulder toward a truck parked outside. Sure enough, there was a piano in the truck bed. A second man was untying the ropes holding it in place.

Tifa shook her head. "I think you must have the wrong place."

The man looked down at his clipboard. "Seventh Heaven?"

"Yes, but--"

"Cloud Strife live here?"

Tifa closed her mouth. After a long pause, she said, "Yes."

"Then this is the right place. Sign here, please." The man thrust the clipboard and a pen at her.

"I can't--" Tifa looked at the piano, and something hard and uncomfortable clenched her stomach. "Where am I supposed to put it?"

"Wherever you want. I'm a delivery guy, not a decorator."

Marlene and Denzel had come up behind Tifa and were peeking around her at the truck. "We could put it in the living room," Marlene said helpfully. "There's enough room in there."

Tifa pressed her lips together, staring at Cloud's name and address written on the delivery slip. Where had he gotten a piano? _Why_?

"Lady, it's just a signature," the delivery man said impatiently.

Tifa blinked and hurriedly signed her name. The man took the clipboard and went to help with the piano.

Ten minutes later, the truck was driving off and there was a piano in Tifa's living room. She stared at it, the knot in her stomach tightening more painfully. It was on old piano, the wood faded, some of the keys chipped. But as Marlene excitedly started pressing keys from one end to the other, Tifa knew it had been kept in good musical shape, wherever it had come from. It was in tune and each note resonated clearly through the room.

"This is so neat!" Marlene exclaimed. "I wonder why Cloud got a piano?"

"Maybe he wants to play it?" Denzel said, but he sounded dubious. "Does Cloud play piano, Tifa?"

"No." _I do. I…did. I…_

Marlene looked at Tifa, about to ask something, but then she stopped and frowned. "Tifa? Is something wrong?"

Tifa realized she was staring intently at the piano with her forehead scrunched in a frown. She tore her eyes away from it and smiled at Marlene. "I'm fine." Her voice sounded forced even to herself. "Why don't we go get some lunch?"

Tifa got busy with making the kids' food, finishing putting away the clean laundry, and opening the bar, but even that didn't take her mind off the new piece of furniture now occupying her living room. She heard it, too, when the kids played with it as she was working, plunking random keys in no particular order. She didn't understand why it was making her so tense, why the thought of a piano in the house was shadowing her mind, why the sound of it was agitating her enough that she finally turned on the radio to block it out.

Or maybe somewhere deep down, she did understand and just didn't want to really think about it.

The kids went to bed at nine, Tifa closed the bar at ten, and she was soaking in a hot bath when Cloud came home at eleven. She heard Fenrir, and then sounds of the door downstairs opening and his footsteps on the stairs. When she got out of the tub and tugged on her pajamas, she found Cloud in his office, preparing things for the next day's deliveries. He looked up from his work when she stopped in the doorway, the corners of his mouth curving into a small smile. "Hey."

"Hi." Tifa leaned against the doorframe, her arms folded tightly. "Cloud? Why did some guys show up with a piano today?"

Cloud paused. "It's here? It wasn't supposed to be delivered until Thursday."

"Well, they were early. You didn't tell me you bought a piano."

"I didn't." Cloud set his pen down and turned on his chair to face her completely. There was a puzzled look in his eyes as he studied her. "One of my customers was getting rid of it. It was her husband's, and he just died. She was going to throw it out. I told her I'd take it. I thought--"

"That I would want to play it?" Tifa's voice came out strained.

Cloud's expression grew more perplexed. He looked at her silently, and she turned away from his office door.

"Tifa." He was out of his chair and beside her, grasping her elbow and turning her toward him before she'd made it away from the office.

Tifa sighed. "I haven't really played a piano except maybe once or twice since I lived in Nibelheim, Cloud. I haven't even touched one in years."

"I know." Cloud was still searching her face as if he could find an answer to a mystery there. "You're upset."

"I'm not."

"Tifa."

She clenched her jaw and gently tugged her arm out of his grasp. "The kids were really excited about it."

"I was going to tell you before it came."

Tifa nodded, feeling guilty about her complete lack of enthusiasm. She managed a smile and hugged him. "I know. It's…it's a great piano, Cloud. It's good that it didn't get thrown away." She drew back from him and kept the smile on her face until she had turned completely away. She felt Cloud's gaze following her as she headed away from his office. She went into her room and flopped into bed, her remorse poking her sharply. What was _wrong _with her? He hadn't done anything wrong and she had practically jumped down his throat.

She was still wide awake when Cloud left his office and went to take a shower. Her thoughts were stuck firmly on the piano. This was ridiculous. It was just an instrument. An instrument that she had played, that she had loved playing. It shouldn't be causing her such frustration.

The house was silent when she finally crept downstairs into the living room. She was not going to let this get to her or make her testy with Cloud again. What would it say about her if she could face monsters, Remnants, and Sephiroth, but not a piano?

Tifa's feet took her over to the piano almost of their own accord. She ran a hand over the top of it, calloused fingers on smooth wood. She slowly sat on the bench and stared at the piano, pressing a hand to her aching stomach. It shouldn't hurt to look at it. It shouldn't _hurt._

Her right hand hovered over the keys, and she gently pressed the C with her thumb. The single note rang out in the silence, an echo of the distant past. Tifa's breath stuck in her throat, and the ache deepened and spread through her. She brought her left hand up to join the right one, fingers slowly pressing keys. It was like finding a long-lost friend, one that had kept her company during long days and lonely nights. The chords and notes flooded into her mind as if it had merely been days and not years since she had sat like this. She had spent so many hours carefully practicing her playing, committing songs to memory.

She played the first few notes of a song that she had once played constantly. Even after she had started training with Zangan, even after she spent most of her time roaming and learning the mountain paths, she had always found time to play. Her father had never wanted her wandering Mt. Nibel; they'd had such a big fight about it. He had been a good man, her father. Sometimes hot-headed and overprotective, but he had always tried to do what he thought best.

Her father had always loved listening to her play. He had said it always made him feel a little more alive. She had understood the sentiment exactly.

She hit the wrong key and corrected herself. The song picked up, her fingers moving more quickly, more assured. Her father's laughter danced through her memory, and she could see the faces of the townsfolk she had grown up among as clearly as if she had just opened her front door in Nibelheim. She could picture Cloud's mother watering her flowers next door. His mother had been so lonely after he left, and had one day invited Tifa over for coffee and cake. Tifa had soon become a regular visitor, and had Mrs. Strife to thank for her love of coffee and a lot of her knowledge about cooking.

Tifa slammed her hands down flat on the keys. The sound jangled harshly in her ears. It was only then that she realized her shoulders were shaking. She leaned her forehead on her hands, still holding random keys in place, as the jarring sound slowly faded into silence.

Arms wrapped around her from behind. She wasn't surprised when Cloud sat down on the bench beside her, without letting go of her. Tifa didn't look at him; she kept her head on her hands and bit her lip in an effort to still her trembling. There was dampness on the backs of her hands and she was almost ashamed of the tears.

Cloud smoothed her hair back, his hand grazing her cheek. She felt him stiffen as he discovered her tears, and he lifted her chin, turning her face toward his. She met his worried eyes. He had his mother's eyes, so very bright blue, always so expressive. She tried for a smile, but to her dismay, her face crumpled and more tears trickled down her cheeks. She finally lifted her hands from the piano to press them over her face.

"Tifa."

She shook her head at his concern, wiping the tears away. She didn't need consolation or sympathy. She so rarely cried; why should this set her off?

Tifa didn't mean to speak, but Cloud was still holding her and watching her and the words just came out. "I wrote your mother a song once."

Surprise flickered across his face. "You did?"

Tifa nodded. "Your mother told me that you had loved to stand outside and listen to me play piano, even if you didn't think she knew. She said she understood, because she liked listening to it, too. She said sometimes after you left, she would sit outside and listen to me play. So I wrote her a song for her birthday." She stopped and took a deep breath. At least her tears had stopped. "Two weeks later, Nibelheim was gone. She was gone, and Papa, and everyone…" She looked at Cloud bleakly. She wasn't sure how to explain the rest; it was all muddled inside of her. She didn't know how to explain what it had been like when they had returned to Nibelheim years ago to find the town rebuilt and occupied by strangers. To find her own house, which had at least been partially burned in Sephiroth's rampage, rebuilt and complete. There had been things that were off about it, furniture that was different, the wrong pictures on the walls. But her bedroom had been eerily similar, with the bed and the piano…the piano…

She had known that it wasn't her house anymore, or her bed, or her piano, but there had been a part of her in that instant that had somehow expected her sheet music would be there. There _had _been music, and she had found a note from Zangan in it, but it hadn't been _her _music. Not the pieces she had carefully written out over the years, not the ones she had collected. It had been the final stamp on the tragedy that had destroyed her home, family, and childhood.

She hadn't touched a piano since then.

"It _hurts_." Tifa finally returned Cloud's embrace, burying her face in his shoulder. "It shouldn't hurt like this. It's been so long. Every time I think I'll be fine the next time I come across something that reminds me of Nibelheim, it just…hurts."

Cloud's hold on her tightened. "I know." He kissed her temple. "We don't have to keep it, Tifa. If it upsets you this much--"

"No," she cut him off. "It's...I'll be okay. I just needed to understand." She leaned backwards, shifting in his arms and freeing one hand to tentatively rest on the piano keys. She hesitated, then turned completely so she could use both hands. With Cloud's arms still encircling her, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder, she started playing her song again. It still hurt, but the knot inside of her had loosened a little, and there was beauty mixed in with the pain. Sometimes it took the pain to bring the healing, to allow her to remember her father's laughter in the face of remembering his death. To allow her to hear the cheerful greetings of the villagers in the face of remembering the chaos and panic on the night they had all died.

Tifa leaned her head against Cloud's as her fingers moved along the keys, filling the room with music. As long as she had arms to hold her and remind her that she wasn't the only one who remembered the tragedies, then she would also have someone to share the beauty.


	12. Innocence

**A/N: **Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed: Calenlass Greenleaf, 1080, Iskra revoir, Strifegirl27, vx-Luna-xv, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Valentine'sNinja, Creative Spark, KCVII, DJ, Sigbru, and Asterxia Sy.

This one-shot was written because I've always had a love for children, orphans, and the part they play in Cloud and Tifa's lives. And because the little girl with the Moogle is adorable and I stick her in any story that I can. ;)

* * *

_**Innocence**_

The first few days following the Remnants' defeat and the healing of Geostigma brought a fresh beginning to Tifa's life. There were new realizations, conversations, and adjustments--not only for Tifa and her family, but for a lot of citizens in Edge. Parts of the city had been damaged by Bahamut and would have to be added to the list of things to be rebuilt and repaired, and more people were willing to pitch in and help. Maybe the healing of Geostigma had given people a new reason to find hope, but the attitude of the city was more hopeful than Tifa had ever seen it.

There was still going to be a lot of pain and heartache to work through. Though the victims of the Stigma were now healed, they had suffered a lot of trauma because of it, and many people had lost loved ones to the disease. Adults had been afflicted with Geostigma, but most of the victims had been children. Now that they were healed, Tifa began to see new faces on the street, children who she suspected had been too sick to go out and play. Denzel was among them; while he had spent some time outdoors when he was ill, as his Geostigma had progressed, he hadn't been up for running around. Even when he'd had more energy, it had worn out quickly. It brought Tifa such relief and happiness to see Denzel running around outside, laughing and playing with the other kids.

A few days after life began to return to normal--no, to better than normal--Cloud took Marlene and Denzel to deliver some supplies to the WRO headquarters and to pick up some groceries for Tifa. Both kids had been anxious to do what they could to help in the aftermath of the recent battles and they wanted to spend time with Cloud. She didn't blame them. She'd been spending quite a lot of time with Cloud the past few days, too. Talking, figuring things out…they had a lot to figure out, and there was nothing left to stand in the way of it.

Tifa looked up when the bell over the door jangled. She expected to see an adult coming in for an afternoon drink, but it was a girl with pigtails. Tifa recognized her immediately as being one of the many children who had been at the church. She remembered her particularly because the girl had been in the water with Cloud and had spoken to him.

The girl stood by the door uncertainly for a moment, looking around the bar. She had a Moogle doll in one hand that she hadn't been holding in the church. It was the toy that made Tifa realize this was the girl that Denzel had told her about when he had given his version of what had happened during the time she was with Marlene at the church.

"Can I help you with something, sweetie?" Tifa asked.

The child looked over at Tifa and then approached the counter. "I'm looking for Denzel. He lives here, right?"

Tifa smiled. "Yes, but he's out right now. He should be back soon, if you want to wait for him."

The girl's eyes traveled around the bar again, and then she nodded. "Okay." She climbed up onto one of the barstools, setting the Moogle toy in her lap and folding her hands tightly together on the counter. The Moogle was filthy and had obviously been repaired before; it had stitches where someone had sewn it back together. It was in need of further repair--it had another tear at the seam of one arm and had stuffing poking out of it.

"Would you like some juice?" Tifa asked her.

"I don't have any gil."

Tifa pulled a cup off the shelf and filled it with juice from her pitcher. She set it in front of the girl. "It's on me," she said with a wink.

The girl finally seemed to relax. She unclenched her hands and took a drink of the juice. "Thank you."

"I'm Tifa. What's your name?"

"Aria."

Tifa went to refill one of her customer's drinks, and then pulled out one of the cookies she and Marlene had made the previous day. She set it on a plate in front of Aria. "Triple chocolate," she said, "because you can never have too much chocolate in a cookie, right?"

A genuine smile spread across Aria's face. "Right," she agreed.

Talking to Aria reminded Tifa a lot of how it had been to talk to Denzel when he had first come to live at Seventh Heaven. A little cautious, wary, and deeply sad, but somehow still holding onto shreds of innocence. The longer Aria sat at the bar munching on her triple chocolate cookie and drinking her juice, the more she opened up. Tifa learned quite a few things about her, including which children's home she lived in, and how she and her brother had lived on the streets before they were brought to the home.

It was only after they had chatted for a while that Tifa said, "Would you like me to fix your Moogle for you?"

Tifa didn't need to wonder why Aria looked hesitant; she'd heard enough from Denzel to have an idea of what this girl had gone through recently and to have an idea of what this toy meant to her. Finally, Aria nodded and held out the Moogle. "Thank you."

Tifa took it carefully. It smelled just as filthy as it looked, and there was a strong scent that made her think it had been soaked in pond water recently.

When Cloud and the kids returned with several bags of food and supplies for the bar, Denzel's face brightened when he spotted Aria sitting at the counter. He called a greeting, and as soon as he'd given Tifa his bag, he, Marlene, and Aria headed outside. Before Aria slipped through the door, Tifa said, "I'll have your Moogle fixed up for you by tomorrow. And Aria? You're welcome here anytime, okay?"

Aria flashed her another smile and nodded before following Denzel and Marlene out the door.

She arrived at the bar around lunch the next day, and Tifa handed her the newly-cleaned and repaired Moogle toy. She hugged it tightly and thanked Tifa.

It wasn't the last time Aria came to the bar; she started visiting quite a lot, and she wasn't the only one. Seventh Heaven soon became a gathering place for the new friends Marlene and Denzel made. They were always careful not to disrupt the customers, and often offered to help Tifa out with little chores. All the kids thought Cloud was the most amazing thing to come along since fried noodles, and Tifa found herself smothering giggles on more than one occasion when he came home to have half a dozen children greeting him and asking him questions.

Tifa loved every minute of it. She loved the sounds of laughter and chattering, loved that Marlene and Denzel were making friends and getting a chance to experience _life._ She loved that all of these kids were getting a chance to live, to hope and dream, to heal and learn. It was something that far too many people took for granted. She didn't understand how so many adults, especially those who had seen everything these kids had gone through, just didn't care. Before the Geostigma was healed, she had seen a lot of people whose only concern for anyone with the sickness was that they stayed far away from them.

She wondered if maybe the neighborhood children were drawn to her and Cloud because they were really very much the same. Tifa and Cloud knew exactly what it was like to deal with pain and heartache in their youth. Maybe it was because they were really both still so young themselves. Even though Tifa knew her own childhood innocence had started slipping away when her mother died and had been completely smashed when she lost her father and her home, sometimes when she heard the kids' laughter or saw them playing games, she could almost see the lost spark of it in herself. She wondered if Cloud saw the same thing in himself when he looked at Marlene and Denzel with their friends.

Tifa was just happy to give any child a place where they would feel welcome, a place where they could celebrate any vestiges of childhood they had left. She and Cloud somehow ended up being the local parental figures to go to with all sorts of random questions, and they also ended up teaching the kids equally random facts and tasks. Before long, all of the kids knew how to whip up a batch of triple chocolate cookies thanks to Tifa, and all of them could change a tire on a car thanks to Cloud.

"I never thought I'd be doing this," Cloud said one night as he stood looking into Denzel and Marlene's bedroom.

Tifa hugged him from behind and looked over his shoulder at the sleeping, peaceful faces of her two children.

"I never thought I'd be good at it," Cloud amended. After a moment, he asked in an almost tentative way, "_Am_ I good at it?"

Tifa laughed quietly. "Yes, Cloud. I can't think of anyone else I'd want raising children with me."

They both paused with the realization that her words could have more than one meaning. Then Cloud's hands grasped hers and Tifa smiled into his shoulder.

"I talked to Reeve today," Cloud said. "The WRO's starting a school for the kids."

"Finally! I've been pestering him about it for weeks."

"I know." Cloud's voice was amused. "He asked if I'd go to Junon to oversee the delivery of some building supplies for it. It's an overnight job."

"Okay."

They looked in at Marlene and Denzel for another moment, and then Tifa unwound her arms from Cloud's waist and walked into the kids' room. Marlene had twisted so her head was where her feet were supposed to be. Tifa turned her back around and tucked her in. She pulled Denzel's blanket up around his shoulders, then kissed them both on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered, and went back out of the room to take Cloud's hand. Childhood might be fleeting, but she would do everything she could to make it as beautiful as possible while it lasted--not only for her own kids, but for any others whose lives she could touch.


	13. Temperature

**A/N: **Thank you again to you splendorific reviewers: NailoSyanodel, KCVII, 1080, Creative Spark, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Indigoia, Calenlass Greenleaf, shadowneko, Iskra revoir, Strifegirl27, Asterxia Sy, Sigbru, DJ, and vx-Luna-xv.

This was written for a request on the ffvii_het_meme community on LiveJournal. The request was for Cloud taking care of a sick Tifa, with a side of waff.

* * *

_**Temperature**_

Cloud returned to Seventh Heaven just before eight at night to find the "closed" sign flipped outward and all of the lights in the bar turned off. Not even the light that Tifa always left on for him was shining, and the house was completely silent. The kids had called him an hour earlier to tell him that Tifa was really sick. That they were worried enough to call--and that Tifa was ill enough that she hadn't stopped them from calling--had brought him anxiously home.

"Cloud?"

Cloud tensed instinctively, hand going to the hilt of his main blade, but relaxed when he saw Marlene appear at the top of the stairs. She held her finger up to her lips and whispered, "Tifa's sleeping. Well, sort of. Just be very quiet."

Cloud let go of his sword hilt and climbed the stairs, following Marlene down the hall toward his and Tifa's room.

"She started feeling bad after lunch, but by dinner she was _really _sick. Denzel and I had to ask the customers to go home and we closed up. We even washed the dishes and everything!" she said proudly. Then she swallowed and he saw the worry in her eyes. "She threw up for _hours, _Cloud, and now she can't even drink water. Tifa always says it's really important to drink water when we're sick, but she just throws up if she drinks anything." Marlene stopped at the bedroom door and wrung her hands. "We took her temperature, too, and she was _really_ hot!"

Cloud stepped into the bedroom. Denzel was sitting in a chair next to the bed, knees tucked up to his chest. His eyes lit up when he saw Cloud, and he unfolded himself from the chair to hurry over to Cloud and Marlene. Cloud squeezed Denzel's should and rested a hand on Marlene's head, but his gaze was locked on Tifa. She was propped up on her pillow and Cloud's, and even from the door he could see how flushed her face was. "You both did great," he told the kids. "Why don't you try to get some rest, okay?"

They both hesitated, and then Denzel nodded slowly. "Promise you'll get us if Tifa needs us?"

Cloud met his eyes solemnly. "Promise."

It was only then that the kids went into their bedroom. Cloud unfastened his swords and set them against the wall before walking over to the bed. Tifa's eyes cracked open when he approached, peering at him with confused, feverish eyes. She didn't even attempt to smile, which was only more evidence of how ill she really was. She extended a hand toward him, and even in that gesture, he could see how much energy she was expending. He grasped her hand quickly in his own, trying not to wince at how hot her skin was. He didn't know how she could be comfortable under the heavy quilt she had pulled over her.

"The kids called you?" Tifa's voice was hoarse and barely more than a whisper.

"They were worried." Cloud's eyes told her quite plainly that they weren't the only ones.

"I'm okay."

Cloud's eyebrows rose slightly. "Is that what you call this?"

"I just need rest. Once--oh." She let go of his hand and pushed past him out of the bed, stumbling out of the bedroom. She shoved into the bathroom and the sounds of retching quickly followed.

It was a sound that tightened Cloud's chest and made his breath catch in his throat. It brought back far too many strong memories of Denzel throwing up during particularly bad moments of his Geostigma and the heart-clenching, breath-stealing fear that one of the bad episodes would finally be the last. Though it had been a year since then, it was something that he knew would always haunt him and drive a wedge of apprehension into him whenever someone around him was sick.

From the sound of it, Tifa was dry-heaving; Marlene had said she hadn't even been able to keep down liquids, so her stomach was probably already empty. Sure enough, when Tifa came out of the bathroom, clinging to the wall for support, she said, "I don't have anything left to throw up."

The slight whimper in her voice was as close as she was going to come to admitting she really wasn't okay. Cloud wrapped an arm around her, helping her walk back toward their room. The rest of her body was just as hot as her hand had been, and her clothes were drenched in sweat. She slipped out of his grasp as soon as they reached the bed, curling up and trying to tug the quilt over her again.

Cloud's forehead creased in a frown. "Tifa, you're burning up."

"I know, but I'm _so cold,_" she mumbled.

Probably in part because her clothes were so wet. Cloud took a deep breath and slowly let it out, telling himself that this would pass and there was nothing to fear. She was just a little sick. She would get better, and he would do everything he could to make sure of that. He might not have taken care of a lot of sick people, but he'd helped tend to the kids when they came down with something, and he'd had his share of sleepless nights staying up with Denzel during the Stigma. He might never have Tifa's aptitude for being instinctively nurturing, but he at least knew the basics of caring for someone who was ill.

He went to her dresser to pull out some clean, dry clothes, setting them on the bed beside her. "Here," he said quietly. "I'll be right back." He went downstairs to get a cup of ice while she struggled out of her sweaty clothing. He returned to find her redressed and flopped down on top the bed with her feet dangling off the edge. He set the cup on the nightstand and gently helped her move so she was propped on the pillows again. When he started to straighten, she wound her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his stomach. "Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"I think I'm sick."

"I'd never have guessed."

Tifa let go of him and sank completely against the pillows. Cloud picked up the cup of ice and offered it to her. She winced, and he said, "You need to at least have some ice, Tifa." They both knew that if she couldn't start keeping liquids down, she would end up in the hospital.

Nodding slightly, Tifa took the cup of ice and popped one into her mouth. "Thanks," she croaked.

Cloud sat down next to her on the bed, trying to keep from touching her, thinking it would make her more uncomfortable, but she curled up against him, head on his shoulder and legs folded over his. The cup of ice ended up nestled on his other side where she had easy access to it.

Neither of them slept much that night. Tifa got up a few more times to dry-heave, and Cloud spent the night refilling the cup with ice and making her continually eat it. Besides, when she wasn't in the bathroom being ill, she wanted to be in his arms, and that alone would have kept him awake. Her body was like a furnace and she kept moving and squirming around to try to get comfortable.

It was nearing dawn when Tifa was finally able to drink some water and keep it down. By the time Marlene and Denzel came tiptoeing into the room a couple hours later, Tifa's fever had broken and she was sleeping soundly across Cloud's lap. Cloud's eyes were half-closed; though he was pretty sure the worst had passed, he still wasn't able to completely relax yet.

Marlene ventured closer to the bed. "Is she okay?" she whispered. The fact that Tifa didn't stir at all at her voice only went to show just how exhausted she was. Marlene peered at her face. "She looks a lot better."

"She's really going to be okay?" Denzel asked softly.

Cloud rested the back of his hand lightly on Tifa's cheek, reassured by the coolness of her skin. He nodded firmly. "Yes."

Denzel looked relieved, and Marlene smiled happily. She crept forward and gently kissed Tifa's shoulder, then Cloud's cheek. "Thanks for taking care of her, Cloud." She grabbed Denzel's arm and tugged him out of the room, saying something about making breakfast.

Cloud settled back against the bed. He finally fell asleep to the kids making noise downstairs and to Tifa breathing steadily and peacefully in his arms.


	14. Pulse

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who reviewed: Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, Ritsu-San, Calenlass Greenleaf, S.I., vx-Luna-xv, VanillaCookiesxD, Iskra revoir, Sigbr, Asterxia Sy, Strifegirl27, NailoSyanodel, Alialka, KCVII, 1080, P.P.V.V, Drink. Juice, and Amos Whirly.

After writing Cloud's introspection for the "scar" one-shot, I wanted to write one sort of answering it with Tifa, so that's what this one is.

* * *

_**Pulse**_

There were times when Tifa wondered where her need for Cloud ended and her love for him began. Sometimes when Cloud was out late on a delivery and the children were sleeping, the shadows of past hurts would steal across her mind, haunting her in the dark hours of the night. When the echo of losses and disappointments wove around her, loneliness would tug at her and she would try to ignore it. She would tell herself she was being stupid. She was far from alone, and Cloud was only out on a job, not out of her life.

Those were the nights that Cloud would come home to find her still awake. Tifa would pull him almost urgently to their room and he always went with her, no matter if he was exhausted or if he was soaking wet from a rainstorm. The door would shut and Tifa would get lost in the taste of his lips, the feel of his skin against hers, the heat of his breath on her neck. It was always different than the other times they made love; on these nights, she could feel her need clutching at her until she was taking everything she could from him, trying to fill up the strange ache and desperation inside of her. There was an overwhelming need to know he was really there, to know that she was loved, to know that she was wanted.

Afterward, Tifa would lie against him with her heart racing, fingers clenching and unclenching on the sheets, and she would wonder if there was something wrong with her. Cloud had long proven he was there to stay, had showed her and told her he loved her in so many ways.

Maybe it should have scared her that she was so dependent on him, that she had been so dependent on one man for so very long. Without him, even when she had friends and family surrounding her, there was a piece of her missing. She had always needed him, even when she didn't understand why. At thirteen, it had begun with their promise--with a selfish, naïve girl who hadn't understood. She hadn't understood so much about life, about love, about Cloud, about the price she was asking him to pay. _Be a hero. Be my hero. _A silly girl with silly dreams.

But he had promised, and he had taken a part of her away with him when he left Nibelheim. This boy she knew but hadn't really seen, this boy who had cared for her for reasons she couldn't understand back then.

Then the silly girl with silly dreams had been shoved face-first into painful reality, into death and agony and the struggle for survival. Always with that piece of her still missing, always wondering what had become of the boy who had taken it, until at last their lives had again collided.

Had she been any better at twenty than she had been at thirteen? Maybe Cloud had needed her, but she had needed him just as much. Even as she had struggled to understand what was going on in his mind, even as she had questioned and doubted and feared for him, she had still clung to him as she clung to the unfair promise she had thrust upon him. The promise between them had been the last tattered, fraying remnants of a life and an innocence lost, and maybe part of her had wanted to have something of that still.

Somewhere along the way, though, love of an idea and a hopeful someday had changed into real, solid love for the most broken, yet unbelievably strong man that she had ever met. The need was still there, and maybe it always would be. Sometimes the lines between love and want and need all seemed to blur together until Tifa wondered if she really knew what any of them meant. Until she wondered if that was normal. If she was normal.

And on those nights when she needed and needed and took, she continued to cling to Cloud, hot and sweaty and trembling, struggling to hold her head above the waters of her doubts and fears and stupid, stupid questions. He would hold her snugly against him, one hand threading through her hair, fingers of his other hand tracing light circles on her back.

On those nights, the two words he would speak would calm her anxious hands and steal away her desperation. They were a reassurance and a promise, a promise that she was loved and that he was exactly where he wanted to be.

"I'm home."

Her pulse would slow and she would rest her head on his chest, listening to his own steady heartbeat. So what if she needed? So did he. So what if their relationship had grown from a naïve girl's plea for a promise and desire for a hero, and a lonely boy's frustration and desire to be noticed? She had her hero and he had been noticed, and they had come farther, so much farther than that.

Maybe it hadn't been how either of them had expected. Maybe they had been broken into so many pieces that even when they were patched back together, the picture didn't always look complete.

Maybe it didn't matter.


	15. Heart

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who reviewed: Seelenspiel, P.P.V.V, Fairheartstrife, Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, FaerieFighter009, xoVanilla-Bean, KCVII, 1080, Amos Whirly, Iskra revoir, Sekihara Tae, Creative Spark, Vanillacookies, gingerbreadbear, MyfinalfantasyVII, vx-Luna-xv, Strifegirl27, and Asterxia Sy.

This…was not really what I intended to write, and I'm honestly not sure _what _to make of it. *shrugs* I think it's becoming obvious that I have this thing for various forms of artistry. ;) This one just sprang up from Marlene's drawings in the game and movie, and kind of took on a life of its own.

* * *

_**Heart**_

"_Marlene?_"

Marlene blinked and looked around, catching Denzel's eyes. From the tone of his voice, it hadn't been the first time he had tried to get her attention. She blinked at him, and then at Aria, who was watching her with a slight frown. Zack, the eldest of Cloud and Tifa's two boys, was tugging on Marlene's hand and staring up at her with wide blue eyes. He'd been talking about a project his teacher had assigned at school--something about dried beans and glue, and Marlene felt a stab of guilt that she hadn't been paying attention.

"Are you okay?" Denzel asked. His gaze went from her to the poster she had stopped to stare at, halting all of them on their walk away from school.

Marlene squeezed Zack's hand, taking her eyes away from the poster advertising the school fair on the side of Endi's Bakery. She managed a smile at Denzel. "Yeah."

Denzel and Aria exchanged glances, and she knew neither of them was fooled. Clearing her throat, she said, "I think I'm just going to head home."

"You don't want to come to the park?" Zack asked, his tone of voice suggesting that he couldn't imagine why anyone would possibly pass up the opportunity to play on slides, swings, and merry-go-rounds.

Marlene ruffled his hair. "I have some stuff to take care of for school. You go ahead, okay? I'll see you at home."

Zack nodded and traded her hand for Denzel's. "Can we go, Denzel? I wanna go on the swings!" He grabbed Aria's hand, too, and tried to tug the two teenagers down the road.

The look Denzel was giving Marlene told her clearly that he would definitely be talking to her later. She shook her head slightly and waved him off. She watched for a moment as Denzel and Aria headed down the street, lifting Zack off his feet and swinging him between them. It was an image she found herself committing to memory without much conscious thought.

Sighing, she hefted her backpack up more firmly on her shoulder and turned down the street toward Seventh Heaven.

The bar was pretty busy for mid-afternoon, and Marlene wound around several customers to claim an empty seat at the counter. Tifa smiled at her as she poured a drink and set it down in front of one of her patrons, and then walked over to Marlene. "Hi, sweetie. I didn't expect to see you home yet. Weren't you going to the park?"

Marlene swung her backpack off her shoulder and onto her lap. "Denzel took Zack. Aria's with them. I just…"

Tifa propped her elbows on the counter and studied Marlene. "What happened?"

"My teacher happened," Marlene replied. "Look." She opened her bag and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper, thrusting it at Tifa.

Tifa took it and smoothed it out, her expression going from curious to surprised. "Marlene, this is great!"

"No, it's not!" Marlene protested. "Mr. Lidden signed me up for my own booth at the school fair and didn't even ask me about it. He didn't ask if I wanted it at _all._ I signed up to help with the fair, _not _for…for _this._" She took the paper back from Tifa and stuffed it back away before dropping the bag onto the floor. "He thinks because he saw my sketchbook, it makes him an expert on my drawing or something." She dropped her head into her hands. "He wasn't supposed to see it anyway."

Marlene lifted her head and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. It's silly, isn't it? I know it was a really big compliment. I should be happy that he thinks my artwork is good enough that people would be interested in it." She had been drawing since she could hold a crayon, but her sketches now, at age thirteen, were far from the childish images they had once been.

Tifa's hand rested on her shoulder. "I think your teacher is right, Marlene. Your drawings are beautiful and there are plenty of people who would love to see them, but it's your artwork and you can do what you like with it. You don't have to do a booth at the fair if you don't want to. Have you talked to Mr. Lidden about it?"

"I didn't have time. He gave me that paper, wished me all the best, and hurried out the door before I even had a chance to realize what it was." Marlene shook her head. "I don't know, Tifa. I don't know why I'm not excited about it."

Tifa squeezed her shoulder. "I think I have some ideas."

"Any you feel like sharing?" Marlene asked dryly.

Tifa smiled. "Drawing is your window to the world." Someone was calling for a refill on their drink, and Tifa turned toward her shelf of alcohol and pulled down a bottle. She paused in front of Marlene and continued, "More than that, Marlene, it's a window into your heart. Sometimes that's really difficult to share with the people you're closest to, never mind a bunch of strangers."

Marlene watched Tifa go to refill the customer's drink, mulling over that. _Maybe Tifa's right, but it still seems like I shouldn't be this worked up about it._

When Denzel brought Zack home from the park after seeing Aria home, he pulled Marlene aside to ask her what was going on. She explained to him as she had to Tifa, and he regarded her with thoughtful eyes. "What Tifa said makes sense," he told her. "You've never had the slightest problem telling someone what's on your mind, but your drawings--well, you've only ever given them to the people you love. You've always worn your heart on your sleeve, but I think for you, your drawing is the most literal way you have of showing that. It's like your journal." He tugged on her ponytail and said, "Mr. Lidden will understand if you tell him no, Marlene."

Tifa and Denzel's words rolled around Marlene's mind throughout the rest of the day, as she helped with chores and children, greeted Cloud when he returned from deliveries, finished her homework, and got ready for bed. She finally went downstairs to tell Tifa good night. A couple of the regulars still in the bar called their own bedtime tidings to her. She smiled a little as she climbed back up the stairs, but her smile faded when she reached the top of the steps, facing Cloud's office. His door was open and the light was on as he worked at his desk.

Her eyes traveled across the walls in his office. Various photographs and drawings hung there. Some of the drawings were hers, and from different times in her life. It was an odd juxtaposition, seeing the funny little drawing of Cloud and Tifa that she had done when she was seven right next to the drawing she had done of them just last year.

Marlene hesitated, and then stepped forward to the office door. Cloud glanced over at her, and then motioned her inside with a nod of his head. Marlene crossed over to his desk and dropped down into one of the extra chairs next to it.

"Tifa told me about the fair." Cloud scribbled a note on a delivery slip and glanced at her.

"Yeah." Marlene picked at a string on the hem of her tank top. "Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"Would it be weird if I said that I don't want to do this booth because I don't know if I _want _everyone to see my drawings? That I don't want my pictures to be a representation of the school?"

Cloud set his pen down and turned to face her completely. "No, I don't think that would be weird." He considered her carefully. "Marlene, this isn't something that's about the school. It's not about your teacher. It's not something anyone can decide for you." A small smile tugged at his mouth. "Not that you ever let anyone make your decisions for you."

"Mr. Lidden's already tried to make this decision for me." Marlene pulled a little too hard on the string, and part of the hem came unraveled. She quickly let it go and smoothed out her tank top. "I think…I'm just a little scared," she said softly. Cloud's eyes remained unwaveringly on her, and she shifted in her chair. "What if people make fun of my drawings? Or tell me how awful they are? It's not like I need praise; it's not even like I _want _it. It's that my sketches are a reflection of _me,_ of what I see and what I love and what I think is beautiful." And it wasn't that she was worried people would make fun of _her_ as much as that which she loved.

Silence fell in the office, until Cloud leaned forward and said firmly, "Then I'd say you have nothing to worry about. As long as you're happy with your drawings, Marlene, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of them. Not me, not Tifa, not your teacher, not any strangers." He sat back in the chair. "And I don't think anyone would hate them. You never know--you might be able to show people something they might not have seen before. I know you've showed me a thing or two with your drawings." He paused, then added. "You have a gift to let people see into the heart of whatever you draw. But it's _always _up to you what you do with that."

_Heart. There's that word again. _Marlene looked down at her hands and nodded. She stood up and hugged Cloud tightly. "You know, you've gotten pretty good at giving advice."

He squeezed her in return and said dryly, "Years of practice."

Marlene pulled away and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Cloud. Good night."

"'Night, Marlene."

Marlene left his office, climbing the few stairs up to her room. She sat on her bed and slowly pulled her sketchbook out of her backpack. It had been a gift from her papa for her ninth birthday. The cover was smooth leather, worn from years of use, with her name engraved in the bottom corner.

She opened the book and began to sort through her recent drawings. There were a very few that were of landscapes, old buildings, or other pieces of architecture that had grabbed her attention. There was a sketch of flowers and one of a twisted old tree. These were the ones it was easy to pull out and set aside in one pile. They weren't the bulk of what she drew, nor were they what mattered most to her. They were more of passing curiosities that had stuck in her head until she put them to paper.

Her next sketch was of Cloud and Tifa, cuddled up against each other on the couch. Tifa had a cup of coffee in her hands and they were looking at each other in a way that only they _could, _and Marlene found a smile growing on her face just seeing their expressions.

Expressions that she had captured. Biting her lip, she set that picture in a second pile and moved onto the next one. This one was of Denzel, sitting with Zack and little Liam, reading them a bedtime story. There was another one of Aria, standing behind the bar on one of the days she came to help Tifa. There were drawings of Marlene's friends in school, drawings of Cloud working on Fenrir, of Tifa holding Zack, and a self-portrait that Marlene had done without even looking in a mirror. She had a sketch of Tifa's hands, one of Cloud's eyes, one of the side of Zack's face while he was sleeping. So many images, a thick portfolio that told the story of her life, her family, everything that was precious to her.

When she finished, she had two stacks of paper--the few pieces of paper that held landscapes, and the large pile that were drawings of family and friends. Marlene frowned at it and rested her head against the wall. _They're just pictures. Just pictures. I'm blowing this way out of proportion._

Marlene grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to a fresh sheet of paper. She selected a pencil, holding it tightly between her fingers as she closed her eyes and recalled clearly the image of Denzel and Aria swinging Zack between them.

Her eyes opened and she began to draw, pencil brushing smoothly across the paper. As the lines formed and the picture in her mind blossomed to life, everything else around her faded away until it was just the familiar, soothing sound of the pencil on the paper. When she finally finished, she stared at the picture, at the way Denzel and Aria were smiling down at Zack, at the way Zack's head was thrown back in glee as he swung through the air. Her fingers carefully touched the outline of the three figures.

A slow smile spread across her face, and for the first time since school had ended that day, she felt completely relaxed. _No. No, they're not just pictures._

**:--:--:**

"I'm sorry, but these portraits aren't for sale." Marlene tucked her hair behind her ear and surveyed the crowd at the school fair. It seemed that the whole of Edge had come out to go on rides, buy homemade food, and visit the booths the school had set up. She was slightly overwhelmed by the number of people who had stopped by her booth, and was completely shocked at the person who had asked if they could buy one of her drawings.

"Do you take requests for pictures, then?" the woman asked. "I'd love to have a drawing of my daughter. I would pay, of course."

Marlene blinked several times. "I…don't know. I mean…" _I've never done this before. _It brought her to another question: did she want to get involved in taking requests and doing drawings for other people? Did she want to turn it into a business? That somehow seemed so impersonal.

She glanced at the drawing the woman had asked to buy, and Cloud's words to her from earlier that week rose to her mind. _"You have a gift to let people see into the heart of whatever you draw. But it's always up to you what you do with that."_

Maybe selling pictures wouldn't be impersonal. Maybe…maybe she could show people the heart of what mattered to _them_.

The woman was watching Marlene with hopeful expectation, and Marlene found herself slowly nodding. "I could do that, but I'll need a picture of your daughter."

The woman beamed. "Of course! I don't have one now, but if you give me an address to send it to, I'll be sure to get it there. How much would you charge?"

Marlene was feeling more than a little dazed when the woman finally walked away from her booth.

"You doing okay?" Marlene twisted around to see Denzel coming up behind her. He squeezed her shoulder. "You look a little strange."

"Yeah," Marlene replied. She wrapped her arm around Denzel's waist and leaned into him with a sigh. "I want some candy floss, but I'm stuck at this booth for another hour."

Denzel laughed as she turned pleading eyes up at him. "Yes, I'll get you some candy floss."

Marlene grinned at him. "You're the best."

"I know." He pulled on her hair and then headed off to get her food.

Marlene waited until he was gone, and then looked at drawing that the woman had asked to buy. It was one that she had been working on as she sat there at the booth that morning, using a family photograph for reference. She had only just finished it, and certainly hadn't expected anyone to ask to _buy _it.

"Marlene!"

Marlene looked up to see Cloud and Tifa entering the fair with Zack in tow. Zack, calling her name, let go of Tifa's hand to run toward her. Beaming, Marlene bent down to grab Zack as soon as he reached her. She swung him in circles before setting him back on his feet and then turned her eyes on Cloud and Tifa.

Her smile softened as she saw the expressions of happiness and pride in their eyes and on their faces, telling her silently how much they were there for her. This, she knew, was the reason she drew. It was the reason for so many, many things in her life. The people who loved her and supported her, the people who understood that making mistakes was okay and who were always there to help her fight her battles, however small and silly they might have seemed to anyone else.

"I've got something for you." Marlene pulled out the drawing she had just completed and held it out to them. It showed Cloud and Tifa, Denzel and Zack, and Marlene standing in the middle of them. She waited until Tifa took it and then hugged Cloud and Tifa tightly. Her family. Her heart. Everything that was important to her. "Thank you," she whispered.

They were right_,_ she thought as she let them go. What anyone else thought didn't matter. _This…_this was all that mattered.


	16. Smoke

**A/N: **Innumerable thanks to all my reviewers: Calenlass, Kisdota, K.T. Selner, Asterxia, Strifegirl, gingerbreadbear, KCVII, 1080, Tae, P.P.V.V, NailoSyanodel, Amos Whirly, Sigbru, vx-Luna-xv, and S.I..

This one is for my lovely friend Dove Dubs. She requested I write a camping trip involving fishing. This was not at all what I intended to write, but it's how it turned out, so I hope this works, DJ!

* * *

_**Smoke**_

"Hold still for a min--Cloud!" Tifa grabbed his hand the moment he yanked the fishhook out of it. He got a glimpse of the blood welling up on the side of his palm before Tifa had a handkerchief pressed against it.

"You know, there are better ways to remove fishhooks than just ripping them out," she muttered resignedly, her face turned down as she concentrated on his wound.

"Cloud! Cloud, are you okay?" Marlene dropped her fishing pole bounded over and peered worriedly at him. Denzel abandoned his rod beside Marlene's and followed on her heels.

Cloud tugged at his hand, thinking to get it out of Tifa's grip, but her hold on him tightened and she pressed a little harder on his cut. "It's nothing," he said quietly. "It was a fishhook, Tifa, not a sword."

The quick look she shot him from under her lashes told him that she wasn't amused by his comment.

"How'd you get a fishhook in your hand, anyway?" Denzel asked, the expression on his face skeptical. He was probably wondering how a hook could have gotten the better of Cloud.

_Because Yuffie's tackle box is a disaster,_ Cloud thought as he glanced down at the box that Yuffie had lent them for their camping trip. It was a mess of fishing line, hooks, bait, and some odds and ends that he was sure had nothing to do with fishing. "I only used it once!" Yuffie had told them when she presented it to them. "Fishing's boring. At least fishing with all_ this_ junk is boring."

Cloud really didn't like fishing at all, but the kids had been so excited about it. They'd been excited about the very idea of camping. After the last Avalanche reunion, when they were listening to stories of what it had been like for the group to travel around the world, they had begged Cloud and Tifa to take them on a camping trip so they could experience the fun of it. Frankly, Cloud wasn't used to associating _camping _with _fun._ All this stuff like sleeping in tents, catching food and roasting it over a fire, had been done as a matter of survival before.

"Just don't try to get anything out of Yuffie's tackle box without help," Cloud told the kids.

Marlene and Denzel nodded and headed back to their fishing poles.

"Maybe you should follow your own advice, hm?" Tifa said lightly. She pulled the handkerchief back from his cut. "We need to put something on that."

"Tifa, it was--"

"--just a fishhook," she said with him. "You might heal fast, but you still need to put something on it. I'll be right back with the first aid kit. Keep that handkerchief pressed against your cut, Cloud, okay?" Tifa gave Cloud and the kids one last look as though to make sure they would be all right, and then headed away from the pond toward the campsite they'd set up two hours earlier.

No sooner had she walked away then Denzel let out a startled shout. "I got something!" He struggled to reel in his line. Marlene, in her enthusiasm, dropped her own pole and bounced up and down on her toes, yelling encouragement to Denzel. In the few steps it took Cloud to reach them, Denzel had pulled a massive fish out of the pond. Cloud had no idea how Denzel had managed to get it out of the water without losing it or snapping his line.

"Guess we'll eat well tonight," Cloud said dryly as the fish flopped around on the ground.

Marlene immediately stopped cheering and faced him, horrified. "We can't _eat it!_ We have to put it back in the water or it will _die!_"

"Marlene, where do you think the fish we eat at home comes from?" Denzel asked.

"The _market!_" Marlene exclaimed. "They're--they're already dead and…and we have to throw it back!" She shook Denzel's arm. "Denzel, please!"

Denzel was staring down at the fish. He nodded quickly. "Okay, Marlene."

Tifa returned with the first aid kit in hand just after they released the fish back in the water. "I hope you packed enough for dinner," Cloud muttered under his breath, extending his wounded hand to Tifa before she could ask for it. "We're not going to be eating any fish while we're here."

Tifa smiled at the kids as they exclaimed over the fish and how big it had been. She cleaned and bandaged Cloud's hand and whispered, "We have plenty for dinner." She raised her voice and asked Denzel and Marlene, "What do you say we head back to camp and get some supper?"

The evening was calm and relaxing. They lit a fire and cooked food that Tifa had packed from home. By the time they had finished supper and started roasting marshmallows over the flames, the sun had set. Cloud sat at the edge of the fire, while Marlene and Denzel begged Tifa for just one marshmallow before bed.

"One more, and that's it," Tifa said, licking marshmallow off her own fingers. "I think we've had enough sugar for tonight."

After the kids finished their treat and brushed their teeth, Marlene ran over to throw her arms around Cloud. Her face was still sticky, as Cloud discovered when she pressed her cheek against his. "Oops, sorry." She touched his now sticky face, grinned, and ran to tell Tifa good night. Denzel said his own good nights and then followed Marlene into the large tent.

"Hey, why does it smell like squash in here?" Denzel asked, poking his head back out of the tent, his nose wrinkled.

"Yuffie," Tifa explained. "Last time I used that tent, I was traveling the world and sharing it with Yuffie. Let's just say she had some interesting ways of passing time."

Cloud remembered very clearly an incident in the tent involving exploding vegetables, feathers, and Yuffie's shuriken.

Denzel's forehead scrunched in a frown, but then he shrugged and disappeared back into the tent.

"How's your hand?" Tifa asked.

Cloud flexed his palm. It was barely noticeable as a scratch as far as his pain tolerance was concerned. "It's fine, Tifa."

She leaned against him, gazing into the fire. A soft smile curved her lips as she tilted her head to meet his eyes. "The kids seem to be having fun."

"Yeah." Cloud wrapped an arm around Tifa and rested his head against hers. "Are you having a good time?"

Her fingers wound through his. "Of course I am. I'm with you, aren't I?" They sat there in silence for several minutes, and then Tifa leaned forward to grab one of the sticks they'd been using to roast marshmallows. She stuck a couple more of the marshmallows onto it and held it toward the fire.

Cloud raised his eyebrows. "What happened to 'we've had enough sugar for tonight?'"

Tifa sank back against him with her golden-toasted marshmallows. She pulled one off the stick and held it up to his lips. His eyes crinkled in a smile and he opened his mouth to accept the marshmallow. It melted on his tongue, and Tifa grinned and popped the other one into her own mouth. "Personally, I think this is much more fun than all the camping we did to save the world," she murmured.

Cloud wrapped his arms around her and brought his mouth to hers, slowly and deliberately kissing her. Her sticky fingers trailed across his face. "Mm, yes, definitely much more fun," she sighed when he finally leaned back.

His only answer was to pull her more snugly against his side, and they sat contentedly together, watching the smoke from the waning fire curling up into the sky.


	17. Whisper

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who reviewed: Kisdota, FaerieFighter, VanillaCookies, Seelenspiel, Drink. Juice, Jini, Calenlass, vx-Luna-xv, 1080, Kiome-Yasha, Creative Spark, K.T. Selner, Amos Whirly, Asterxia, Sig, P.P.V.V, NailoSyanodel, and mom calling.

Don't ask where this one came from. Short, strange, and probably silly. It's been a long, stressful, exhausting week and right now I can barely keep my eyes open.

* * *

_**Whisper**_

"Tifa?"

Tifa finished pouring a drink for one of her customers and set the bottle down, walking over to Marlene. "Yes?"

Marlene was looking at Tifa in a way that was both tentative and disturbed. "Um…"

Tifa folded her arms on the counter and leaned in a little closer. "What's wrong, Marlene?" Usually, if Marlene had a question, she just asked. In fact, not much could _stop _her from asking.

"I…" She glanced around, as if assuring that the customers in the bar were out of earshot. Her voice was a whisper when she finally managed to speak. "Some of the kids at school were talking about…about where babies come from."

Tifa froze. Oh. Well. Really, it wasn't so surprising. Marlene was swiftly approaching her eighth birthday. Tifa should have considered that the kids at school would start talking about this particular subject, and she probably should have had this discussion with Marlene sooner.

"Is it true?" Marlene asked, still whispering. "About…about guys and girls and…and…" She wrinkled her nose like she had just smelled Yuffie's cooking.

Tifa might have been flustered about this, but somehow, the life she lived--not to mention spending months around Barret, Cid, and Yuffie--had pretty much made her immune to embarrassment when discussions like this came up. "Well," she said calmly, "I'm not sure exactly what they said, so I can't really tell you if it's true or not."

Marlene looked down even more, until Tifa was staring at the top of her head, and mumbled something toward her lap. She finally looked up and quickly, in less than ten words, blurted out the very basic physiological description of sex. Her voice was now so quiet that Tifa almost missed what she said.

Tifa gave a nod. "Yes, that's right." She bit her lip to keep from laughing at the endearing expression of complete disgust and mortification on Marlene's face.

"_Really?_" Marlene exclaimed, speaking in a normal volume now. "But…but…" A full shudder ran through her body. "Eww!"

The door to the bar opened then and Cloud walked in. As was his habit, his eyes briefly scanned the bar to take in the customers, and then came to a stop on her. The small smile that curved his mouth brought a grin to Tifa's face. She waved at him and told Marlene, "Oh, it's not so bad."

Marlene's eyes narrowed and she looked over her shoulder. Her face lit up when she saw Cloud, and she waved and called his name. Then her hand froze in midair and she whipped back around to look at Tifa. Her nose did the crinkle of disgust again, and she heaved a sigh as she slid off her barstool. "I'll just go wash my eyes out now."

Tifa did laugh then. It always cracked her up when Marlene said things that sounded so grown-up. She quickly sobered and caught Marlene's arm before she could head upstairs. "Marlene, you can always talk to me more about this, you know. You can always talk to me about anything."

"Yeah, I know." Marlene flashed Tifa a smile and resumed heading for the stairs. Just before she got out of eyesight, she paused and slowly turned back around. "Wait a minute," she said suspiciously, "is _that _what it meant way back when Yuffie said that some guys want a quick roll in the hay with you?"

"_What?_" Cloud had reached the counter and overheard Marlene, and he stared at Tifa.

Marlene's eyes grew wide. "It _is, _isn't it?" She hastily resumed her flight toward the stairs, and as her footsteps carried down into the bar, she shouted down, "Grown-ups are so _weird!_ And…and…_eww!_"


	18. Rational

**A/N: **Thank you again sooo much to my reviewers: DJ, FaerieFighter, VanillaCookies, Kisdota, shadowneko, K.T. Selner, Kainos Ktisis, mom calling, NailoSyanodel, Oceanee, Jini, Fairheartstrife, Calenlass, P.P.V.V, 1080, vx-Luna-xv, Cloudtail4ever, Valentine'sNinja, Asterxia, pockybandits, Amos Whirly, and xoVanilla-Bean.

Thanks to Dove Dubs for being my sounding board! ^_^

* * *

_**Rational**_

The bar was quiet following the dinner rush. Cloud was keeping an eye on the bar while Tifa took a break to give their two little boys a bath upstairs. From behind the counter, Cloud could hear Zack's voice loudly exclaiming, "Look at me, Mommy! I'm a bubble monster!"

"Hey, Cloud, what does _disenfranchisement _mean?" Marlene looked up from the other side of the counter, where she was eating a late supper and finishing up her homework. Though it was Friday, Marlene was the type to do her homework immediately after school so she wouldn't have to worry about it the rest of the weekend.

In response, Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Where's your dictionary?"

Marlene sighed, but didn't look surprised at his answer.

"If you look it up--"

"I'll be able to remember it better," Marlene finished for him, already digging into her backpack and pulling out her small dictionary.

As soon as Marlene finished her dinner and her homework, she ran upstairs, and came back down with her backpack slung over her shoulder. She flung her arms around Cloud and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "'Bye, Cloud! I'm staying the night at Kiri's."

"You have your phone?"

"Yes. And yes, I'll call when I get to her house," Marlene said before Cloud could bring up that point. Waving over her shoulder, she dashed out the door.

She'd barely left when the bell over the door jingled and Denzel came in. Or rather, stormed in. He glanced around the bar before dropping onto one of the barstools at the counter and slumping over to rest his forehead in his hands. "Why don't girls make any sense?" he asked in frustration, lifting his head to look at Cloud.

Cloud wasn't entirely sure how to answer that--or if Denzel even wanted an answer. He remembered what it had been like to be fourteen, and knew that while things might be far between Denzel at fourteen and Cloud at that age, there were some things that were just typical of adolescent boys. At least, he thought there were. Sometimes it was really hard for Cloud to judge what was normal, since his own youth had been so very abnormal.

Girls, though--yeah, he could relate to that one.

"It's just--how can they expect you to know something if they didn't even hint at it? And why does that have to start a fight? I don't even know what I'm supposed to apologize for! Why _should _I apologize? I didn't even do anything!"

Cloud patted Denzel's shoulder sympathetically. "It gets harder when you get older. Girls get more complicated."

Denzel sighed and his shoulders sagged. "Tell me about it."

"There's one very important thing to remember," Cloud continued. "Women are not rational."

"Excuse me?" Cloud and Denzel both looked at Tifa as she came into the bar. "What's this about women not being rational?" Her arms folded across her chest and her eyebrows rose.

"Not rational in the same way men see rational," Cloud explained. When Tifa finally lowered her arms and turned away to reach for a bottle of Corel wine, he murmured, "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"I heard that, Cloud Strife." Tifa glanced over her shoulder at him and made a face, but her eyes were twinkling. "Zack's in bed, if you want to go say good night." The phone started ringing, and she went to pick it up. "Hi, Marlene! Okay. Thank you for calling, sweetie. Have fun!"

The bell over the door jangled again, and as Tifa moved to take care of the new customer, Cloud leaned closer to Denzel. "One more thing. Apologies don't always work, because girls always want to know _what _you're apologizing for. If you don't even know what you did, it doesn't go over too well."

Denzel rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I kind of figured that one out already," he said wryly.

"But," Cloud continued, "sometimes flowers with an apology helps."

Denzel's eyes narrowed. "Didn't you have trouble with that once?"

Cloud suppressed a grimace. "That doesn't count. Tifa was pregnant and cranky."

"I heard that, too, Cloud," Tifa informed him as she set a drink down in front of her new customer.

"It's true and you know it," Cloud muttered, catching her around the waist as she walked past him.

Tifa pursed her lips in a half-scowl, half-smile, but then leaned forward and kissed him before turning to Denzel. "Denzel, sweetheart, the best thing that you can do is admit you might not know what you did to upset her, but you really do want to work it out. Girls might get mad sometimes that you don't know _why _they're upset--"

"I know!" Denzel exclaimed. He buried his hands in her hair. "Why can't it just _make sense?_"

"It's part of growing up," Tifa said. Then, looking at Cloud, she amended, "And being grown-up. The point is, she'll calm down and realize that you do want to figure it out. It's always a plus when a guy wants to figure it out, okay?"

"Okay." Denzel frowned, but finally slid off his barstool. "Is it okay if I go out for a little while?"

Tifa nodded. "Be back by nine."

"Okay." Denzel headed back out the door.

Tifa hugged Cloud tightly. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear.

"For what?"

"Being you." Tifa pulled back, kissed him again, and then moved away to go get a refill for a customer.

Cloud shook his head as he walked upstairs to say good night to Zack. He walked into the bedroom and smiled as Zack shouted, "Daddy!" Cloud caught him as he leapt off the bed and into Cloud's arms.

A little irrationality and frustration were to be expected in any relationship, but what mattered was that things were worked through and resolved every time. There were some words of advice that Cloud could give, but there were also some things that could only be learned through experience. He had no doubt Denzel would work things out. If Cloud had managed to do it, then Denzel would surely succeed. Granted, Cloud had also married possibly the most patient, loving woman in existence, but Denzel was also being raised by that woman.

Yeah. He'd be just fine.


	19. Dinner

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who reviewed: Jini, Kisdota, DJ, Creative Spark, shadowneko, Strifegirl, mom calling, Seelenspiel, gingerbreadbear, Calenlass, Amos Whirly, 1080, FaerieFighter, Tae, vx-Luna-xv, VanillaCookies, Asterxia, Mind Astray, and pockybandits.

* * *

_**Dinner**_

Tifa knew the moment when Denzel felt completely comfortable in his place with their family. Or maybe completely comfortable with the fact that they were really a family at all.

It was funny, because until the moment it happened, she hadn't realized there was still a part of Denzel that was holding back. Maybe it shouldn't have surprised her. He had been through losing so many people, and even once he came to live with Cloud and Tifa, his sense of stability had been shaken a time or two.

They were all eating dinner together, only a few weeks after the Reunion crisis and the end of Geostigma. They weren't eating in the bar; they were kneeling on cushions around a low table in their living room. Tifa scooped a helping of mixed vegetables onto Marlene's plate, and then on Denzel's, before passing it across the table to Cloud. Cloud's eyes crinkled and his lips curved in the slow, small smile that had been showing more frequently on his face than ever before.

Tifa beamed at him in return, but only when she was passing around the bowl of noodles did she realize that Denzel was staring at his vegetables. He looked at Tifa and she saw hesitation in his eyes. "Is something wrong?" she asked him in concern.

Denzel continued to gaze at her, and then finally blurted, "Do I have to eat this?" He poked at a chunk of squash with his chopsticks, his shoulders hunched guiltily.

It took Tifa a moment to realize that Denzel had never once complained or questioned any of the food she'd put in front of him in all the months he had lived there. Marlene had always been very vocal about what she liked and disliked. _"Tifa, I don't like this casserole." _Or, _"Tifa, can I have a sandwich instead, please?" _But nothing of the sort had ever come out of Denzel's mouth.

Tifa peered at her own vegetables to see if she had burned them. She knew Denzel had eaten these before.

It was then that sudden understanding hit her.

Denzel hastily began, "It's okay. I can--"

Tifa interrupted with a hand on his arm. "Denzel. Do you like these vegetables?"

Again, he paused before confessing, "Not the squash." Then Denzel added, "But it doesn't matter. If they'll go to waste, then I'll eat them."

Tifa never forgot how hard Denzel's life had been, or the things he had been through, and this was just another reminder to her of what his life must have been like in the time he had spent living on the streets. He would have had to eat any food he could get his hands on, including things he might not have liked. She had seen it in other street orphans, too--they ate what they were offered without complaint.

On top of that, in the beginning, Tifa suspected Denzel had been worried if he did something wrong, he would lose his home with them. She had always done everything she could to assure them that no matter what, he was with them to stay. With all the loss he had suffered in his life, though, she knew that fear of further loss was something he might never completely get over.

Tifa exchanged glances with Cloud. Cloud reached over with his chopsticks and plucked the chunks of squash out of Denzel's vegetables, dropping them back into the serving bowl. "They won't go to waste," Cloud said. "Tifa likes squash."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "You don't?"

Now it was Cloud's turn to look as awkward as Denzel had a moment earlier. "It's not my favorite," he finally admitted, "but it's okay." As if to prove this, he popped a piece of squash into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Tifa crossed her arms and eyed Cloud and Denzel. "You know, I can make food you _like _if you just tell me what you like and don't like. No one's going to get in trouble for not liking something," she said gently.

"_I_ like squash!" Marlene said proudly, looking between all of them. She bounced on her cushion and added, "I like chocolate cake, too." She blinked hopefully at Tifa.

Tifa laughed. "After dinner." She winked at Denzel. "Unless we find out Cloud and Denzel don't like chocolate cake, either."

"Nah, they both like it," Marlene piped up before Denzel or Cloud could respond. She grinned at both of them.

That, at least, Tifa had no doubt about--she was very aware of how the chocolate cake (or cookies or pie or whatever other dessert she made) disappeared if Cloud got up with the kids before she did in the morning. She looked pointedly at Cloud, who gave her that slow, small smile along with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Tifa smiled in response as she helped herself to some more of the squash. Strange how sometimes it could take something as simple as dinner to show her how much they were all moving on.


	20. Late

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who reviewed: Calenlass, Alialka, kitsune, Creative Spark, Kisdota, mom calling, Amos Whirly, VanillaCookies, Jini, General Gregarious, 1080, Ash Ai, Kiome-Yasha, Tae, Valentine'sNinja, Nymphadora, vx-Luna-xv, StrifeVsTribal, pockybandits, Asterxia, and punkiemonkie.

If I didn't reply to your review, I apologize. I tried to reply to them, but I'm on vacation and it took me days to just write this because I've been so busy.

* * *

_**Late**_

Cloud scrubbed a hand over his forehead and sighed as he examined Fenrir, his cell phone pressed to one ear. His call was answered on the second ring.

"Cloud?"

"Hey, Tifa." Damn it, the primary flux line was broken. "I'm going to be a little late tonight. I've got a problem with Fenrir." He rolled back on his heels. If he could patch it back together and get it to work long enough to get home, he could replace it before he made any other deliveries. "I shouldn't be too late." He glanced up at the thick gray clouds covering any hint of the sun. It was getting steadily darker, and he knew that it wasn't just because the sun was setting.

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

After saying goodbye and tucking his phone back in his pocket, Cloud got to work on trying to patch up the line. He really wasn't surprised when a loud clap of thunder sounded. As though it had only been announcing further weather trouble, it was immediately followed by a sudden downpour of rain. It had just been one of those days.

Once Cloud had a temporary patch on Fenrir, it took a few minutes to get it started again. He finally managed to get it going, and set off for Edge, hoping that the repair would last that long.

_At least one thing went right today,_ he thought when he eventually pulled up in front of Seventh Heaven. He got Fenrir into the garage and entered Seventh Heaven through the side door, which took him into the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. The voices of customers and clinking glasses immediately reached his ears, and Tifa looked over at him from where she was wiping a glass with a towel. "Hey." She smiled at him as he walked forward, leaning forward to kiss him. Several of the regulars whistled loudly. "Welcome home," Tifa murmured against his lips. She pulled back and frowned a little. "You're a little wet. Was it raining?"

"Just a little. It stopped about ten minutes ago." The wind had mostly dried him after that.

Tifa's eyes searched his face. "I'll get some dinner ready for you." She kissed him again before turning back to the bar. "The kids are in bed."

Nodding, Cloud turned and headed for the stairs. He stopped in his office to drop off some papers before heading up to the kids' room. Denzel was asleep, mouth hanging slightly open. Marlene was awake and squirming around in her bed. Instead of her usual smile when she saw him, she just looked distressed.

"Are you okay?" Cloud sat on the edge of Marlene's bed.

"My back _really itches,_" Marlene said. She reached over her shoulder and scratched at her back. "I got bitten by a bunch of mosquitos when we were playing capture the chocobo outside tonight. Tifa put some lotion on them earlier, but they still itch."

"Scratching bug bites only makes them worse," Cloud pointed out.

"I know."

"I'll get you some more lotion." Cloud found the lotion in the bathroom and helped Marlene apply it to her bug bites. He got a kiss on the cheek from her, along with a thank you and a good night. He made sure Denzel was tucked in and brushed a hand over the boy's hair before heading back downstairs.

Tifa had set a plate of food out for him. She poured him a glass of strong ale and set it in front of him. "So. Bad day?"

"You could say that," Cloud took a long drink of his ale. "My first delivery was to some crazy woman who shrieked at me that she didn't have any packages coming to her. She lived in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. You should have seen the size of the gun she waved at me. It would rival Barret's arm."

Tifa's eyes widened. "Oh, Cloud..."

"Then the second delivery was a bunch of flowers some guy was sending to his girlfriend. Turns out his _girlfriend _was married to some other guy and her husband was home. We had a bit of a mix-up."

Even though she had a sympathetic expression on her face, Cloud could see the telltale twitching of Tifa's mouth. "Let me guess. He thought you were the boyfriend?"

Cloud nodded and took another swig of ale. "My swords didn't even put him off at all. Not at first, anyway." He rubbed a hand across his face. "And I didn't want to hurt him."

Tifa pressed her fingers over her mouth and shook her head. "And then Fenrir had troubles on top of it."

"Yes, but the jealous husband wasn't even the last of my troubles for deliveries. It just seemed like a conspiracy against the delivery boy day."

Tifa did laugh then, running a hand over his hair. "I'm sorry, Cloud," she said sympathetically. "I'll be closing in a few minutes, and then we can just have a quiet evening." She gave him a slow, suggestive smile.

He reached across the counter and tugged her close for another long kiss. "Sounds good to me."

Cloud finished his dinner as Tifa started to close up the bar. He went upstairs to take a shower and wash off the dirt and mud that he had collected throughout the day. The hot water did a lot to ease his muscles and help him relax. By the time he got out, the only sound coming from the bar was Tifa singing along to the radio while she swept. Smiling a little, Cloud started for the stairs to help her with cleaning up the bar. He was halfway down the stairs when Tifa's singing changed into a startled yelp. Heart lurching, Cloud jumped the rest of the way down the steps and raced into the bar to find Tifa pouncing on something in the middle of the bar.

When Cloud saw what was in her hands, his pulse slowed back down, but his dismay shot through the roof. It was a hamster. _You have to be kidding me._ _Well, I guess this is fitting for today._

"We missed one." Tifa's voice was equally dismayed as she held tightly to the squirming rodent. "At least, I hope it's just one."

For both their sakes, he hoped so, too. After the amount of trouble caused by what they referred to as the Great Hamster Infestation, he was tired just thinking about the little beasts. He and Tifa had dealt with weeks of catching hamsters, finding them in the pantry, on the counter in the middle of the night, and in other random places. The last straw for Tifa had been when she found some of the hamsters trying to nest in her underwear drawer. Yeah. Fun times.

Tifa disappeared into the kitchen and came back a moment later with the hamster in a jar that had holes poked in the lid. "I'll take it down to the pet store in the morning. Then I'll start looking around to see if they've multiplied again."

Cloud grabbed the broom. "I'll get this."

"Thanks." Tifa went to work on the dishes, and they quickly had the bar cleaned. They trudged upstairs together, Cloud's fingers weaving through Tifa's as he led her toward their room.

_At least, _he thought dryly as their bedroom door was closed and locked, _the night will end better than the morning._

:--:--:

An hour later, there was a loud _crack_ as their bed broke and crashed into the floor. Amid Tifa's giggles and Denzel's sudden shout of, "What _was_ that?", Cloud could only sigh.


	21. Secret

**A/N: **Thank you again to you lovely reviewers: kitsune13, Kisdota, Calenlass, Amos Whirly, P.P.V.V, VanillaCookies, 1080, Jini, StrifeVsTribal, FaerieFighter, Akila, Mind

Thanks to my friend Matt, who let me borrow the idea that led to this prompt. That idea being: when stuck in what to do in a plot, throw in an unexpected flower delivery and see what it leads to.

* * *

_**Secret**_

Tifa took a drink of her coffee as she sat in the corner booth, going through her weekly finances and composing a list of supplies she would soon need. The bar was quiet, only the hum of the overhead fans making any noise. She rubbed a sore muscle in her shoulder and started to add cloth napkins to the list when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

It wasn't Cloud; she hadn't heard Fenrir, and he had keys. Frowning a little, she stood and headed for the door, expecting to perhaps find someone she knew. She certainly didn't expect to see the young man standing there with a huge armful of flowers. She looked at him curiously. "Can I help you?"

The man peered at her over the brightly colored petals. "I've got a delivery for Seventh Heaven."

Generally, the only deliveries brought to Seventh Heaven that didn't come home with Cloud were the ones Tifa had to order in bulk. "Who sent flowers?" She would have suspected Cloud, but the flowers didn't _look _like something Cloud would pick out. When she caught sight of the bluish leaves with yellow flowers dotting the mix, she was positive they weren't from Cloud; Marlene had an allergy to the rue plant and Cloud would never order them as part of a flower arrangement.

"Dunno. I got the order over the phone and brought 'em here from Kalm. There's a note in there somewhere. You want 'em or not? Took me ages to get here 'cause I got a flat tire on the way and I still have to more bouquets to deliver tonight."

Tifa relieved him of his burden. He nodded at her and said, "Thanks. Have a nice night."

She watched him drive off in a car with other flowers in it. The side of his vehicle read _Camp's Flowers, _with the address and phone number in Kalm. She'd heard of them, and knew that Cloud had delivered various items to them on occasion.

Tifa set the flowers on the counter and quickly found the note attached to one of the stems. She opened it and her eyebrows rose as she read it.

_My Darling,_

_These words can never express the fullness of the way I feel when I look upon your angelic face. I hope that these flowers might begin to say what I have not been able to begin to say aloud. My love for you is bright and blossoming--_ here Tifa had to stifle a laugh --_and no longer could I keep my silence. You do not yet know who I am, but I gladly await the next time I see you._

_Forever Yours,_

_Your Only One_

Tifa stared at the letter, not sure whether to be disturbed or just plain amused. She was having a hard time not laughing at the absurdity of the letter, and wondered who would possibly write something like that, let alone have the gall to deliver it to _anyone, _especially her. It wasn't secret that she and Cloud had been in a relationship for a very long time, and their wedding four months earlier hadn't exactly been quiet in Edge. Anyone who came into her bar more than once would have to know she wasn't available, and only an idiot would make a move on her.

Then again, maybe that's why it was anonymous. Though a person would have to be an even bigger idiot to think sending anonymous love letters (especially ones so ridiculous) and flowers could possibly come between her and Cloud.

The faint roar of Fenrir's engine alerted her to Cloud quickly approaching. It grew louder until it came to a stop at Seventh Heaven, and when Cloud came into the bar, he smiled at her before his eyes were drawn to the flowers.

"Where did those come from?" he asked in confusion as Tifa wrapped her arms around him. He held her snugly and kissed her, but when they separated, his gaze was still questioning.

Tifa explained the odd, late-night delivery and handed him the note. His eyes widened as he read it and his expression darkened. He abruptly crumpled up the note. "Do you have any idea who sent it?"

"No." Hands on her hips, a hint of a smirk was on her face. "It's nothing to worry about. I've handled admirers before. Not any that were quite this flowery--no pun intended," she added hastily as she caught her wording. She traced her fingers down his cheek. "There's nothing to be jealous--"she paused as Cloud picked up the flowers and dropped them in the trash "--about."

"I know that," he said, his voice neutral, "but I'm not going to encourage him. Besides, you know what would happen if Marlene touched the rue." He gave the trashed flowers a smoldering look before turning and heading up the stairs.

Biting down on a smile, Tifa went after him. Her paperwork could wait.

:--:--:

It was obvious to Tifa from the way Cloud scrutinized her customers the next day that the secret admirer was still fresh on his mind. Tifa had to admit that she was curious, too, but like most things odd in her life, it got swept to the back of her mind.

It may have stayed there had another incident not followed, two days after the arrival of the flowers. Cloud was home when the second delivery came. Tifa was busy with customers, but couldn't help noticing when Cloud stood stiffly behind the counter, his stormy gaze on the box in his hands.

It was a container of chocolates from Mr. Tamoya's candy store, one of the children's favorite places in Edge. "Tamoya said these were called in anonymously." Cloud's voice was low and he slowly eyed each of her current customers in a way that would have made any sane man nervous. "There's another note."

"Ooh, is that candy from Mr. Tamoya's?" Predictably where chocolate was concerned, Marlene had bounded into the room.

Tifa handed the box of chocolates to her. "Yes, you and Denzel can have it, as long as you share it with your friends. Two pieces each, understand?"

"Yes. Thank you, Tifa!"

As Marlene skipped off with the box, Tifa took the note Cloud was holding and looked at it. This one was much shorter than the first.

_"These could not ever be as sweet as you, but I hope you will view them as a token of my undying love for you._" It was again signed _"Your Only One_."

"Who writes like this?" Cloud demanded, snatching the note back from Tifa and tearing it deliberately into pieces. "It sounds like something out of Marlene's bedtime stories." He glowered at her customers and she squeezed his arm.

"Cloud--"

"Maybe I should stay home today."

"Over some secret admirer?"

"We don't know anything about him. He could be dangerous."

Tifa's eyebrows rose. "And you don't think I could handle that?"

"I didn't say that." Cloud sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's annoying," he finally said. "Just be careful."

"I always am."

Still, she wasn't sure it was purely by chance that Cloud had his deliveries finished and was home well before the bar closed for the evening. Though there had been no further hints from the secret admirer, and though Cloud claimed he had no worries, Tifa couldn't miss seeing the possessiveness in his eyes, and even the very way he made love to her that night spoke of that possessiveness. It was as though he was assuring her--or maybe himself, too--that they belonged to each other and no one else.

"Mm," Tifa sighed lazily as she lay tangled up in the sheets with Cloud, the moonlight shining pale through the window. "Maybe we should have secret admirers more often."

He scoffed at that and pulled her closer.

:--:--:

Letters and gifts three and four arrived over the next week. By the time the fifth "secret admirer" gift showed up on their doorstep, Cloud was downright frustrated and Tifa was pretty exasperated herself. She just wished whoever was at it would _stop_; it was getting ridiculous. Particularly given this fifth gift, which arrived during breakfast. Marlene and Denzel paused in their eating to gape at the life-sized stuffed chocobo that was propped next to the door.

Cloud looked ready to attack the thing with his sword, and might have had Tifa not been standing in front of it, reading the latest letter. She read it twice, her eyes widening in slight disbelief and sudden understanding. A third read, and she started laughing.

"Tifa, this isn't funny!" Cloud protested. "This _has _to stop. I'm going to--"

"Cloud." Tifa pushed the letter into his hand. "Read that."

"Tifa."

"Just read it."

Sighing, Cloud looked down at the note, and then his own eyes widened. His head snapped up and he stared at her. "What?"

"What's it say?" Marlene ran over to try to get a look at the letter.

Denzel made a face. "Is it as mushy as the one that came yesterday?"

Tifa pried it from Cloud's fingers, cleared her throat, and read, "'My sweetest love, I wanted to give you this gift so you would know how I think of you everyday. I saw this and I thought only of the beautiful yellow of your hair…'" She was trying so hard to maintain a straight face that she had to pause to regain her composure. She opened her mouth to try to read the rest of it out loud, but a burst of laughter escaped and she shook her head, handing the note back to Cloud. Actually, the idea that it was a woman who had written all these letters made a lot more sense. It was still horrible prose, but not as disturbing as if a man had written it. "It looks like _I'm _not the one who has the secret admirer."

Cloud looked like he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or horrified. Tifa picked up the huge chocobo and plunked it into his arms. "Guess that's yours." She patted it on its plush head. "I suppose now you can be reminded of your own spiky hair?"

"It's so _cute_!" Marlene wrapped her arms around the toy and squeezed it; it was easily twice her size. "Can we keep it?"

"Marlene…" Cloud began.

"Pleaaase?"

Cloud sighed and carefully set the chocobo on the floor so it wouldn't knock Marlene over. "It's all yours." He and Tifa watched Marlene lug it toward the stairs. Denzel slid off his seat to go help her, and Cloud glanced at Tifa. "I'll figure out who it is and get it to stop."

"It's probably someone you see on deliveries," Tifa said. "Since her first letter talked about 'gladly awaiting the next time she saw you.'"

"You don't have to sound so amused."

"Oh? How should I sound?" Tifa nudged him lightly with her elbow. "Jealous?"

Cloud pulled her toward him, locking his hands firmly behind her back and looking at her intently. "Are you?"

"It's kind of hard to be jealous of someone who sends a man flowers. Besides," she murmured, brushing her lips against his, "I'm the one who got you, so I have nothing to worry about."

He leaned into kiss her more deeply. They pulled apart abruptly when a loud crash came from the stairs. They both raced over to find the giant chocobo sprawled at the bottom; it had knocked over a stack of crates Tifa had there.

Marlene and Denzel were both standing at the top of the stairs, looking chagrined. "Are you two okay?" Tifa asked.

"I tripped on the chocobo's foot," Marlene explained. "I'm sorry about your crates!" She and Denzel ran down the stairs and helped lift them back into place.

"It's fine, sweetie." Tifa stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched Marlene and Denzel carefully drag the stuffed toy back up. It wasn't until they had disappeared around the corner that she turned to Cloud and smiled slyly. "At least when you find this secret admirer of yours, you can tell her that your kids enjoyed her gifts."


	22. Defend

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed: mom calling, Calenlass, Creative Spark, 1080, Kisdota, Amos Whirly, Synchrony, shadowneko, VanillaCookies, StrifeVsTribal, RandomChibiDemon, vx-Luna-xv, pockybandits, Asterxia, punkiemonkie, and Tae.

* * *

_**Defend**_

Cloud knew that Marlene wanted something the minute she sat down across from him by the way she folded her hands on the table, the way she was looking at him with barely veiled expectation. "Hi, Cloud," she said cheerfully.

Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Hi, Marlene."

"I was wondering if I could go hang out with some kids from school tomorrow night."

Cloud's face was neutral when he looked at Marlene. "Hang out where?"

"There's a warehouse in Midgar and they're getting together there."

"By getting together, you mean having a party," Cloud guessed.

Marlene shifted in her chair, unfolding her hands and fiddling with her hair. "Well, yes."

"Are there going to be any adults there?"

"Well, no, but Denzel wants to go, too." Marlene waved over her shoulder at where Denzel was taking drinks from Tifa to carry over to customers at one of the booths. "So he'll be there if you let us both go."

Cloud considered this information for a moment before saying, "Denzel is seventeen, Marlene." He didn't add that Denzel, being male, meant he didn't have to worry about the sort of things guys might try to pull on a pretty girl like Marlene.

"So?" Marlene crossed her arms. "I'm fifteen. Tifa moved to Midgar by herself when she was my age. You left your home and went to try to join SOLDIER when you were _fourteen. _I'm responsible, I'm careful, and you know that you and Tifa both taught me more than enough self-defense to take care of myself."

They had also taught her how to discuss what she wanted calmly and rationally. Cloud leaned back in his chair and studied her. "You also know that drinking and other stuff can go on at this sort of party."

"Cloud, I've lived in a bar since I was three. I think I know how to handle people drinking."

"You've never shown interest in going to any parties like this before. Why now? And if you pull the 'everybody in school will be there' card on me, I'm not going to buy it. For that matter, why does Denzel want to go?"

Marlene's expression shifted to something more reluctant, and Cloud knew he'd finally reached the crux of the situation. She was right about everything that she had said. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he wanted to understand why she was asking him to do something so uncharacteristic. "Can I just not answer that and have you say yes anyway?"

"No."

Marlene sighed. "I didn't think so." After a moment, she said slowly, "It's for Kiri."

Kiri had been one of Marlene's closest friends since childhood. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. I mean, she's safe and healthy and all that. It's just--she met this guy who invited her to the party. She's got a crush on him the size of Bahamut and she won't _listen _to anyone about being careful. I don't know this guy, Cloud. He doesn't go to school with us, but he's been hanging around a lot and he doesn't give me a very good vibe."

"So you want to go to the party to keep an eye on Kiri."

Marlene nodded. "It's not like she has parents to keep an eye on her." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Denzel said if I got permission from you guys, he'd come with me. Actually, he told me that if I got permission, there was no way I was going alone." She again rested her arms on the table. "I don't know what's gotten into Kiri lately. Sometimes it feels like she's going one way and I just can't follow. She worries me. But she's still my friend, and I don't want her to get hurt. Short of someone tying her to a bed, she's going to this party." She dropped her head onto her arms. "I don't want her to get hurt," she repeated, her voice muffled. "I'd suggest you guys or some other adults just go in there and bust up the party right off, but I'm afraid she'd just sneak off with him. Not that she won't sneak off with him some other time, but…if I can just find something to show her that he's not a good guy then maybe she'll stop and _think _about what she's doing."

Cloud reached over and rested a hand on the crown of her head. "If Denzel goes with you, then yes, you can go." Marlene's head lifted and she looked at him hopefully. "But I want the exact address, and you both need to keep your phones on you at all times. You're going to call and check in every half hour that you're there."

Marlene was nodding through all of his instructions. She stood up and flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Cloud. I'll be careful, I promise."

Cloud patted her on the back. "If you miss even one check-in--"

"--then you and Tifa will come busting in, I know." Marlene pulled back and grinned at him. "Just so you know, you guys are the best ever."

He watched her race off to grab Denzel. Tifa was looking at him with raised eyebrows from behind the counter, and he gave her an "I'll tell you later" sort of look. He knew Tifa wouldn't dispute his decision. Denzel and Marlene had grown into thoughtful, responsible young adults, and Marlene was right--both of them knew how to protect themselves. He and Tifa had taught them to defend those who needed it. There came times--more and more often, he was finding as they got older--where he had to let go and trust them to make the decisions to help others where they could.

Sometimes he wondered what had happened to the days when Marlene and the girls she hung out with had been entertained by dressing up in Tifa's clothes and giggling at each other as they painted their fingernails.

He knew he wouldn't sleep the next night until they were both safely home again.

:--:--:

It was nearing one in the morning when Cloud and Tifa heard the telltale sound of their family van, which Denzel had used to drive him and Marlene to the warehouse, pull up to Seventh Heaven. As the garage opened, Tifa relaxed on the bed beside him, and her small smile said very clearly that she was relieved Denzel and Marlene were home.

The door that led from the garage to the house opened and closed, and then there were several sets of footsteps on the stairs. Cloud heard some whispering, and then Denzel walked by Cloud and Tifa's door on the way to his room. He glanced in and waved at them when he saw that they were awake before continuing into his room.

Marlene peeked around the doorframe. When she saw that both Cloud and Tifa were awake, she whispered, "Can I come in?"

Both Cloud and Tifa sat up and Tifa waved her over. "Of course."

Cloud's eyes narrowed when Marlene crossed the room and sat on the bed, noticing several dark spots on her pale shirt. "Marlene, why do you have blood on you?"

Marlene blinked and looked down at her shirt. "It's not mine," she said hurriedly. She paused, then cleared her throat. "Kiri's in my room. I told her to use my bed tonight, if that's okay with you."

"Yes, that's fine. Is she okay?" Tifa asked.

"She's a bit shaken up. Let's just say the guy she had a crush on--well, she found out tonight that he wasn't really so nice." Marlene's hands clenched into fists, her voice icy.

Cloud exchanged glances with Tifa before asking Marlene, "What did you do to him?"

"I kind of broke his nose."

"I see."

"And maybe his jaw." Marlene looked down at her hands, then back up at Cloud and Tifa, a stubborn expression on her face. "And that was before Denzel had words with him. It was all in defense of Kiri, so if you're going to lecture me--"

"We're not going to lecture you, Marlene," Tifa interrupted, fingers brushing Marlene's cheek. "I'm glad you're safe--I'm glad that Kiri's safe."

Marlene nodded. "I just wanted to say thank you. For letting me go. For trusting me." She hugged Cloud tightly, and then Tifa, before sliding off the bed. "I'm going to go make Kiri some hot chocolate."

A small smile crossed Cloud's face as he watched Marlene walk out the door. "She sounded just like you," he told Tifa, sliding back down onto his pillow.

"Really?" Tifa flopped down, too, and faced Cloud. "I was going to say that she sounded like you."

Cloud closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of Marlene rummaging around in the kitchen. Though he might still wonder sometimes where the years had gone, he wouldn't turn back time for anything. He had learned more from Marlene and Denzel over the years than he sometimes thought he had ever taught them.

"I'm so proud of them," Tifa murmured, half-asleep.

Cloud folded his fingers through hers. "Me, too."


	23. Point

**A/N: **Thanks so much again to all of you very patient reviewers: Kisdota, mom calling, RandomChibiDemon-chan, Colorless Wind, Faith Angel, Vanillacookies, gingerbreadbear, vLuna, Asterxia, scienceguy, StrifeVsTribal, Amos Whirly, Vladimir the Hamster, Mr. Martin, 1080, Synchrony, and drifter17.

* * *

_**Point**_

It was past midnight when Cloud got home from his deliveries. It was much later than usual, but there had been medical supplies in desperate need of delivery, and so he had diverged from his normal schedule to make sure they got to the right people.

He expected the light that Tifa always left on for him to be on, and it was, but there were a lot of other lights on inside Seventh Heaven as well. He discovered why when he opened the door and stepped into water. He paused and looked around--the whole floor of the bar was covered in a good inch of water. He stepped carefully through it; it seemed to be flowing from the direction of the hall.

Cloud took only a few steps when he heard a frustrated noise coming from the laundry room. Sure enough, when he reached the door, it was to find Tifa, soaking wet, her hair pulled into a knot on the top of her head. She was surrounded by several large picnic blankets and numerous towels, all of which were equally drenched. The washing machine was pulled away from the wall, open, and full of wet laundry.

"Finally decided we needed a swimming pool?" Cloud asked mildly.

Tifa gave a startled yelp and automatically swiveled into a defensive position. She relaxed when she saw Cloud, and then her face crumpled into an expression of frustration. "I need more towels."

Cloud made a conscious effort to drag his eyes off of her wet t-shirt and to her face. "I don't think all the blankets and towels we own are going to get all the water out of the bar."

"It's in the _bar?_" Tifa asked in devastation. "I didn't get that far. I just shut down the washing machine and grabbed everything I already had in here to dry the floor." She gave the washing machine a resigned look. "Why did you die on me _now_? After all of the _care _I gave you."

"Tifa? It's a washing machine. It's not going to talk back." Cloud leaned against the door. Talking to inanimate objects was just one of Tifa's quirks. Er, charms. It never ceased to amuse him. "And it's a washing machine that was held together with tape and wires." She was the only one who could get it to work at all. He had been telling her for months that they could just get a new one, but she adamantly maintained that she was not going to spend money on a washing machine when she had one that still worked perfectly fine.

"I was in bed and I heard it making noise. It was leaking and shooting water all over the place. I'm not sure how long--I started the laundry before I fell asleep." Tifa sighed and pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "I'm going to be up all night cleaning up the water. You should just go to bed, Cloud."

"Be right back."

"Cloud--"

Cloud ignored her as she called after him. He went upstairs, removed his boots and swords, and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. When he headed back downstairs with the rest of the towels they owned, Tifa was in the bar. The front door was wide open and she was attacking the water with a mop, doing her best to push it out the door, but mostly succeeding in sloshing it into the walls and chair legs.

It was three in the morning before they had the bar dry. Or mostly dry. The laundry room was piled with sopping blankets and towels, and Tifa and Cloud were sitting tiredly on the floor in the hallway.

"Thanks for the help, Cloud."

"Mmhmm." Cloud paused. "But Tifa? Next time one of your appliances needs to be held together with _tape, _we're getting a new one before something like this happens."

"Would this be a bad time to mention that I had to rewire the dryer the other day?"

"You rewired…with what?"

"Wires. I think that was the point of re_wiring_. I know where to get wires, Cloud Strife. I'm not completely useless." Tifa's head lilted against his shoulder and she yawned. "What do you say we hit the shower?"

"But we're already wet--oh." Seeing the sly smile Tifa gave him, Cloud didn't need her to clarify.

"Exactly." Tifa dragged herself to her feet, and as they headed upstairs, she added, "Oh, and I should tell you I took the toaster apart, but I couldn't fix it. And yes, I got a new one."

Cloud gave her a suspicious look. He had a feeling he was going to have to sort through all of her appliances and determine what _else _might need replacing, since they had widely different definitions of when an appliance was pretty much dead.

"And I'll tell you about the blender tomorrow. I can't think about wires and appliances anymore."

They had barely shut the bathroom door when all of the lights suddenly went out, leaving them standing in pitch blackness, undoubtedly one of the city's occasional power outages. _What perfect timing,_ Cloud thought wryly.

"That one," Tifa's voice said from near Cloud's left shoulder, "was _not_ my fault."


	24. Turn

**A/N: **Thanks you again to everyone who reviewed--I so appreciate it!: Kisdota, mom calling, Fairheartstrife, gingerbreadbear, Amos Whirly, StrifeVsTribal, 1080, vLuna, P.P.V.V., imaginedreams22, Asterxia Sy, NailoSyanodel, CrimsonShocker, RandomChibiDemon-chan, Aosugiru Sora, chrisVIII, and Lupiesden.

* * *

_**Turn**_

Edge was dark and fairly quiet as Tifa and Cloud headed home after one of their rare dates--courtesy of Yuffie, who volunteered to watch Denzel and Marlene. _Volunteered _might not have been the best word, Tifa thought wryly. It was more that she had hijacked the children and thrown Cloud and Tifa out the door, telling them that even old, boring people needed time alone. "You're supposed to be going to parties and dancing all night and just throwing your responsibilities to the wind every once in a while. Geez, live a little!"

While they had not stayed out all night--in fact, it was only around midnight--it had been nice to get out and just spend some time alone. As they walked, hand-in-hand, back toward Seventh Heaven, they passed the park where the kids often played. It wasn't much--some swings, a slide, and a merry-go-round. Tifa's footsteps slowed, and Cloud stopped beside her, looking at her curiously as she glanced between him and the dark playground. A smile spread across her face, and she tugged Cloud's hand. "Come on."

She could tell he was puzzled from the little crease on his forehead, but he walked with her as she pulled him over to the swings. Releasing his hand, she sat on a swing and grinned over at Cloud. "Bet I can go higher."

He blinked at her and didn't move as she pushed off the ground and began to swing. The chains squeaked loudly in the warm night air as she went back and forth, gaining height with each pump of her legs.

"Tifa…"

She waved her fingers at him on her next forward swing.

"What if it breaks?"

"It's not going to break," Tifa assured. She leaned back on the swing, the metal chains hard and cold under her fingers. She closed her eyes and felt the wind rush over her face, blowing her hair every which way. For a moment, she felt like a little girl, playing on the old wooden swing near her house in Nibelheim. The kids had taken turns swinging on it, or pushing each other. It had broken when she was eleven and no one had ever bothered to fix it.

She didn't have to open her eyes to know when Cloud finally joined her. She heard the creaking of his swing join hers, heard him mutter that he felt ridiculous. She laughed, her eyes still shut, and said, "Admit it. It's a little fun." She finally opened her eyes and glanced at Cloud to see him moving opposite of her, back when she was forward, forward when she was back. "And I'm still going higher."

"Are not."

"Am too." She gave her legs an extra hard pump to prove her point.

Now Cloud was determined. They swung higher and higher, the swings squeaking louder, until finally, at the apex of a forward swing, Tifa let go, launching herself into the air and landing gracefully a good distance away.

Cloud followed a moment later, landing nimbly beside her. The smile on his face was wider than any she had seen in a while as he said, "I jumped farther."

Tifa straightened and planted her hands on her hips. "You did not. Look. I'm at _least _a centimeter closer to the merry-go-round than you."

"Are not."

"Am too."

"If I admit that you went higher on the swings, will you admit that I jumped farther?" Cloud asked.

"Nope. Because I beat you on both counts."

They looked at each other and both started laughing at the same time. "Think Marlene and Denzel have rubbed off on us at all?" Tifa giggled.

"Just a little," Cloud said wryly. His eyes twinkled, and then so fast that she almost didn't see the motion of his hand, he tapped her shoulder. "Tag. You're it."

He was racing across the playground almost before Tifa realized what had happened. "Hey!" She dashed off after him, but couldn't quite catch up as he sprinted toward Seventh Heaven. He reached the front door and touched it half a second before she did. "Not fair," she protested, sidling up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You got a head start."

His eyes crinkled. "Who said anything about fair?"

Cloud was leaning in to kiss her when the door was yanked open. They jumped, startled, and faced Yuffie.

"I _thought _I heard you two!" Yuffie exclaimed. Then, peering more closely at them, she beamed. "Wow, you guys are a wreck! Your hair's _everywhere_, Tifa. Just what were you doing? Never mind, don't answer that; I can guess and I don't need to have nightmares."

"Yuffie, we--"

"Cloud, _shhh!_" Yuffie waved her arms frantically. "I just said I don't want to hear about it!" Still, she gave them an exaggerated wink.

Exchanging resigned glances, Tifa and Cloud stepped into the bar, only to be met with the sight of feathers all over the floor. And… "Is that whipped cream?" Tifa stepped toward a wall, running her finger over a glob of white.

"Sure is!" Yuffie nodded. "Oh, stop looking so worried. You came home before I could finish cleaning. I already took care of the popcorn and most of the feathers."

"Popcorn?" Cloud echoed.

"Most of the feathers?" Tifa waved her arms around the bar. "It already looks like a chocobo exploded!"

"We had a pillow fight," Yuffie explained. "With some whipped cream and popcorn added in for good measure. Popcorn is a lot harder to dodge than a pillow, you know. The kids needed _practice_. I don't know what you're teaching them, but their ninja skills are in serious need of work."

"And somehow popcorn and whipped cream are going to help them develop these ninja skills?" Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Yuffie--"

"No worries! They're my pillows." Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Geez, give me some credit. I'm not irresponsible, you know."

Tifa spotted legs sticking out of one of the benches in the corner booth. Stepping closer, she saw that Marlene was curled up asleep on the bench. She had whipped cream on her nightshirt and popcorn in her hair.

"Denzel made it to his bed. Marlene crashed there," Yuffie said cheerfully. "She looked comfortable." She clapped her hands. "Well, then! Guess I'll finish cleaning up and then head on out so you guys can continue your evening of fun! Though I _did _use all your whipped cream, so if you were planning on using that at all…"

Cloud choked and Tifa resisted the urge to rub her temples. "Yuffie, how about I finish cleaning and you can head home," Tifa suggested.

"Oh, no. Not falling for that one. If I leave now, I'll be getting lectures forever about how irresponsible I am and I make messes and don't clean them and blah blah blah…you just get Marls into bed and _I'll_ take care of this and then let myself out. Deal? Deal." Yuffie made shooing motions at them.

Cloud scooped up Marlene, who stirred and opened her eyes. "Cloud?" she said, her voice fuzzy. "You're home?"

"Yes, we're home. I'm just going to take you up to bed, okay?"

"Mmkay." Marlene leaned against him, her eyes already drifting closed. "Did you and Tifa have fun?" she murmured as Cloud carried her past Tifa and Yuffie.

"Yes."

"What'd you do?"

Their voices got quieter as they went up the stairs, but Tifa could still hear Cloud say, "We went out to dinner and then we went and swung on the swings at the park. And raced home."

Yuffie snorted and looked at Tifa. "Swung on the swings? Yeah, that's a good one. Just be glad she's at an age where she actually _buys _that."

Tifa picked up a handful of feathers and threw them at Yuffie, watching them drift down around her head. Then, on impulse, she leaned forward and tapped Yuffie's hand. "Tag. You're it."

As Tifa, feeling very childish and silly, ran around the counter with Yuffie in hot pursuit, she decided that they really should do this more often. Maybe sometimes the grown-ups needed to take a turn at doing something childish and silly every once in a while.

:--:--:

The next morning, Denzel and Marlene crept downstairs, planning to get breakfast without waking Cloud and Tifa. Instead, they stopped and gazed around at the bar. "Denzel, I don't remember that many feathers on the floor."

"Me, neither." Denzel walked forward and looked at the ground. "I don't think we used chocolate sauce, either." He pointed at a glob of sticky brown chocolate on one of the barstools.

Curious, they poked around the bar and then followed a trail of marshmallows to the living room. They both stopped and stared. There, lying on the couch, were Cloud and Tifa, and Yuffie was curled up on a chair. All three were sound asleep. All were also covered in chocolate sauce and feathers, and Yuffie had marshmallows in her hair.

Marlene and Denzel looked at each other, and then tiptoed away from the living room. "Grown-ups," Marlene said, shaking her head, "are so weird." Then, brightening, she dashed off and came back with the camera.

Denzel frowned and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Taking pictures to show to Cloud and Tifa the next time they say _we're _messy."


	25. Pretend

_**Pretend**_

Aria wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. The rain was coming down faster than when she had left her house, a cold downpour that plastered her hair to her face. If she hadn't been in such a rush to get out the door, she would have grabbed a raincoat or an umbrella. Too late to worry about it now.

Seventh Heaven was farther away now than it had been when she was living at the children's home, and she moved as quickly as she could through Edge, ducking her head when she crossed paths with anyone. There were still a few people out and about-mostly people heading home from a late night work, or visiting bars that were still open at this hour.

Aria jumped over a puddle and shot a wary look toward a dark alley as she heard someone coughing in the shadows. She picked up her pace, tugging the hood of her sweatshirt further down her forehead. She hoped Tifa or Cloud would be awake when she got to the bar. She hoped she could talk to one of them without alerting Denzel or Marlene to her presence. Especially Denzel. She didn't want a hundred and one questions from him tonight.

There was a light on inside Seventh Heaven. After a couple years of knowing the Strife family and their habits, Aria realized that this meant Cloud was probably still out on deliveries, and Tifa had left the light on for him. Stopping at the front door, she knocked quickly. Shifting from foot to foot in an attempt to stay at least a little warm, she waited until the door finally slid open. Relief swept over her when she saw Tifa's concerned face peering at her.

"Aria?" Tifa opened the door wide and put a hand on Aria's sopping back, escorting her into the bar. "What's wrong?" She shut and locked the door before turning her full attention on Aria, who focused her gaze on the floor, at least until Tifa's hand cupped her chin and turned her face upward. Aria hoped that the tears streaming down her face would be confused as rainwater, but when Tifa's thumb smoothed across her cheek, she knew that Tifa wasn't fooled.

Tifa studied her for a moment, and then steered Aria toward the stairs. "Let's get you cleaned up and into dry clothes. Then we'll talk."

Aria silently went with Tifa, casting glances at the closed bedroom doors. She accepted dry clothes-drawstring pants that belonged to Tifa, and a t-shirt that was Marlene's. The pants were a little too long, but were much better than her soaked clothes. Finally, she sat downstairs on one of the barstools as Tifa fixed a cup of hot chocolate and set it in front of her.

Tifa sat on the stool beside Aria's. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Aria shifted. "I had to get away from the fighting," she finally said.

"Who was fighting?" Tifa pressed.

Aria shrugged jerkily. "People," she replied evasively.

"Was it your new foster parents?" Aria swallowed and Tifa's eyes darkened. "It was," Tifa said, though Aria hadn't said a word.

"They fight all the time. About everything. About me. They don't think I'm…'working out,'" Aria quoted. She bit her lip, her hands clenching the hot mug of chocolate. "Business has been bad for Mr. Elstead and he says I eat too much and cost extra money."

"You _eat _too much?" Tifa echoed disbelievingly. "You're ten years old! You're growing like crazy-I hope you're eating plenty!"

"They're going to send me back to the children's home." Aria struggled to keep her voice level. "It's okay," she said bracingly, even though _okay _was the last thing she felt. "I didn't even think I would get put in a foster home at all. I'm too old-most kids my age are heading out on their own before long. I can take care of myself, but-" Her breath hitched. Tifa was watching her with those caring, sympathetic eyes, with the gaze that always seemed to be able to draw Aria's thoughts out of her mouth, even if she didn't want them to come. She could never pretend anything around Tifa. "But I thought I might finally get a chance to have a family of my own." Several tears slipped down her face, and she brushed them away furiously, ducking her head over her hot chocolate. "Instead I'm just a burden."

Tifa's warm arms folded snugly around her. "Aria, sweetheart, you are not a burden. If the Elsteads are too blind to realize what an amazing chance they've been given to know you, then that is _their _loss. It is not your fault. And you don't have to pretend to be okay if you're hurting."

As if that was all Aria had needed to hear, the dam broke and the tears she had been struggling with all evening came in a wave of painful sobs. She clutched Tifa and cried into her shoulder. She was just calming down when the key turned in the bar door. It opened, and Cloud stepped in, just as wet as Aria had been a little while earlier.

Cloud looked over at Tifa and Aria, and then he was hurrying over to them. "What happened?" Aria recognized his tone. It was his 'whose ass do I have to kick' tone, and while she was touched that he cared that much, the last thing she needed was a sword-wielding Cloud Strife showing up at the Elstead's home in the middle of the night.

Drawing back from Tifa, Aria wiped her face on her sleeve and averted her eyes. She didn't even have the mental energy to be embarrassed that Cloud had arrived to see her a weeping mess.

Tifa pulled Cloud aside and they held a whispered conversation. Aria stared down at her hot chocolate as they talked about her and glanced over at her. When Cloud finally disappeared upstairs, Aria told Tifa, "I should go."

"I don't think so." Tifa put a hand on Aria's shoulder. "I'm going to call the Elsteads and tell them you're staying here tonight. Cloud's setting up a bed in Marlene's room for you. We'll look at this from a fresh perspective in the morning. _After_ I make sure you eat enough eggs and pancakes." Her eyes crinkled in a smile, but Aria could still see the worry on Tifa's face. "We'll help you work this out, Aria. I promise." She squeezed Aria's shoulder. "Why don't you finish up that hot chocolate and I'll find you a toothbrush."

Aria finished her hot chocolate and then tiptoed up the stairs. She took the toothbrush Tifa procured for her, and slipped onto the cot that Cloud had set up in Marlene's room.

Seventh Heaven had already been a sort of second home to her over the years, one place where she was more than just another face in a crowd of orphaned children. Maybe that made sense-after all, Cloud and Tifa knew what it was like; they were both orphans, too. Or maybe they were just the very rare sort of people who just cared and helped when and how they could.

Either way, as Aria tugged a worn quilt up over her shoulders, she felt completely comfortable and secure for the first time since she had been moved into the Elstead household two weeks earlier. She knew that this was why she had come to the Strife house. Because even when life was a mess and even if her world was falling apart, they had never brushed her off or let her down. Because if Tifa said they would help work this out, then Aria knew it was true.

Because in a world where disappointments and hurts and broken hearts abounded, there were still some people she could count on to be there for her.


	26. Hole

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed: mom calling, LadyTeefStrife, Creative Spark, .., Kisdota, Arrowned, P.P.V.V., kitsune13, Amos Whirly, StrifeVsTribal, Synchrony, vLuna, imaginedreams22, Puggles Master, chrisVIII, 1080, UglyTruth, Tiny Cherie, and Meeve.

* * *

_**Hole**_

Tifa was asleep at the bar counter when Cloud came home. She was sitting on one of the stools, the counter in front of her scattered with papers. It looked like she'd been working on finances, but she'd fallen asleep on top of them. Cloud wasn't sure how she had managed to stay in the stool, with the way her body was angled.

"Tifa." He touched her shoulder as her eyes blinked open and her head rose off of her arms.

"Cloud." Her voice was fuzzy with sleep. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?" She wrapped an arm around him and pressed her face into his side.

"Almost one in the morning." Cloud hugged her around the shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "You should head for bed. The finances can wait."

"Not--" Tifa yawned again "--finances." She stretched her arms out and shook her head, looking more alert. "I don't think it can wait, either. I wanted to talk to you about it, unless you're too tired."

Worry suddenly prickled over him. "I'm awake." He sat down in the barstool beside Tifa's, eyes roving over the papers, wondering what they were and why they had kept Tifa from going to bed. A frown touched his mouth when he saw the papers--four of them--all had Marlene's name written on the top. He picked up one paper and realized it was a homework assignment. His eyes widened slightly. "She failed?" He looked at the other papers, and sure enough, every single one of them was marked with a failing grade. His frown deepened. Marlene was smart as a whip, and the thought of her failing at even one paper, let alone four, was baffling to him. The date at the top showed she had done all of them that week. Well, half-done them. Two of the assignments were just blank homework sheets.

"Her teacher called me earlier and said she wanted to have a conference. When I asked if there was a problem, she was surprised I hadn't seen Marlene's recent homework assignments," Tifa said. "Marlene was _not _happy when I asked for them, Cloud. She got really snappy and came at me with an attitude bigger than Cid's ego."

Cloud's eyebrows rose.

"I asked her if she was having trouble understanding the homework. She yelled at me that she didn't want to talk about it and stormed up to her room. When I went in to talk to her, she had fallen asleep." Tifa's brow furrowed. "She's been really moody the past few days, though. Have you noticed?"

"Yes." The mornings he had been there for breakfast that week, he had noticed that she had only picked at her food. She hadn't been her usual smiling, chatty self, either. "She keeps saying she's okay."

"I know." Tifa pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm glad tomorrow's a Saturday. No school. Maybe if we sit down and talk to her together, we can figure out what's going on. I'm really worried about her."

"Barret's coming to visit on Sunday. Do you think that has something to do with it?"

"I thought about that, but I don't know why it would. She's always excited to see him. I asked Denzel and Aria if they knew why she was so upset, but they didn't know, either."

Cloud put a hand on Tifa's back. "We'll talk to Marlene in the morning."

"Mm." Tifa gathered up Marlene's homework assignments and headed for the stairs.

Cloud followed her, setting his things in his office. He climbed the rest of the steps and peeked into Marlene's room. She had kicked her blankets halfway off the bed. When Cloud went over to pull them off of the floor and back onto Marlene, he noticed that she was sleeping with her tattered stuffed rabbit, Mouse, and her old butterfly, and that deepened his frown. She had stopped sleeping with her stuffed animals beside her more than a year earlier.

He left her room and glanced into Denzel's room. Denzel, who was a much lighter sleeper than Marlene, opened his eyes and waved at Cloud before rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow.

Cloud turned to go into his and Tifa's room. Several years earlier, he wouldn't have been able to imagine himself as a family man. Families had always been what happened to other people--to normal people. Not to people like him. Then again, his family had been built from broken pieces and broken people, from a lot of circumstances that were anything but normal.

Family changed everything. Having kids around changed everything. Cloud sometimes felt like he learned more from the kids than he taught them. Every age brought something different, every year that passed brought new understanding--and occasionally frustrations.

Tifa had whispered to him, late at night, that she also had times when she felt she had no idea what she was doing. "My mother died when I was so young," she had said, "and I just had to figure things out by myself."

Cloud climbed into bed and held up his arm so Tifa could settle against him. He wasn't sure when he finally drifted off to sleep, but he woke briefly when kids' quiet footsteps sounded on the stairs, then again when a screeching alarm went off.

Cloud was on his feet, his sword in hand, before he realized it was the smoke alarm downstairs that was wailing. He ran down the stairs with Tifa on his heels to see Denzel darting into the kitchen.

Cloud and Tifa followed him to the doorway. Smoke pouring from a pan in the kitchen. Denzel grabbed it off of the stove and poured water over it and then stood on a chair, waving a towel in front of the alarm to blow the smoke away from it. The horrible noise finally stopped, and then the only noise was Marlene's crying as she stood in the middle of the kitchen, hands pressed over her face and her shoulders shaking.

Tifa put her arms around Marlene and looked at Cloud. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

"I was just trying to make pancakes," Marlene sobbed. "I can make them. I didn't mean for them to burn."

"Denzel, can we have a moment with Marlene?" Tifa asked Denzel quietly.

Denzel shot a worried look at Marlene, but nodded and left Marlene alone in the kitchen with Cloud and Tifa.

"Marlene, it's all right. We can still make pancakes," Tifa said gently.

Marlene yanked away from Tifa, and her face was angry despite the tears. "No!"

"Marlene, sweetheart, we need to talk. Why don't you--"

"I don't want to talk to you!" Marlene interrupted. She crossed her arms and glared between Cloud and Tifa. "Maybe if you wanted to talk to me you should have done it _earlier!_"

"Marlene." It was all Cloud got out before Marlene turned her back on Cloud and Tifa, arms still crossed. "We just want to help you. We can't do that unless we know what's wrong."

"You want to know what's wrong?" Marlene yanked something out of her pocket. She turned and shoved it at Cloud.

Tifa stepped over to Cloud, her eyes full with worry and confusion. Cloud held out a worn, folded up piece of paper. When he unfolded it, a picture dropped out onto the floor, and Tifa scooped it up. Her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, Marlene!"

As soon as Cloud saw the picture, he began to have some inkling of the problem. It showed a very happy young couple, with the woman cradling a tiny baby in her arms. He didn't recognize the woman, but she looked an awful lot like Marlene. And the man's face was unforgettable.

Sure enough, when Tifa flipped the photograph over, it had three names written on the back: _Dyne, Eleanor, and Marlene Bishop (2 months old)._

The paper turned out to be a letter, and though Cloud didn't have time to read it, he saw that it was signed by Eleanor. By Marlene's birth mother.

Marlene folded her arms around herself. "Those are my parents, aren't they? I've asked Dad--I asked him about my mother once, and he told me she was beautiful and amazing and that he'd tell me the whole story when I was old enough to understand, but I'm _old enough to understand _and no one told me! I found those in a box of Dad's things--I thought I'd go through it before he came to visit, but I found that and…I don't understand why no one told me." Her voice was a whisper when she finished speaking. She sat down on the chair and looked up at Cloud and Tifa. "I thought he was my father. I mean…my real father. I know…he looks a lot different than me, but…it can happen that way…"

"Oh, sweetie." Tifa dropped down in front of Marlene and took her hands. "I'm…I--" She looked over her shoulder at Cloud, who stared back, not sure what he was supposed to say.

Marlene pulled her hands away from Tifa. "You didn't tell me, either!"

"I know." Tifa bit her lip and sighed. "You never asked me, and I thought that Barret--"

Marlene shook her head. "I haven't lived with Dad in so long…I hardly remember living with him at all. And I…I think about it sometimes. I think about Dad and I call him and find out what he's doing. I always love it when I get to see him. But I wonder, sometimes, about my mother, and it just…I didn't think too much about it because I have you, Tifa, and you've always been my mother. And there are so many kids who don't have mothers _or _fathers, and I know that I'm so, so lucky to have you, and Cloud, and Dad, and so many other people who love me. I just didn't realize…"

"Realize how important it really was?" Tifa asked.

"Yes." Marlene looked down at her lap. "Until I saw that picture, and then--then I just realized it's all a lie. Who I thought I was. All this week, I haven't been able to think about anything else. I've felt like there's this big hole inside of me. But…if they're my parents--" she waved at the picture "--does it really change anything?"

"It changes your perception." Cloud crouched down beside Tifa. "Truth is important, and it's always been very important to you."

"We were never trying to lie to you, Marlene," Tifa said. "And I know Barret--"

"How hard would it have been to tell me he adopted me? Who are Dyne and Eleanor Bishop? Are they dead?"

"Yes." Tifa exchanged glances with Cloud, and he knew that one of the hardest things to explain would be the death of her father. That would go _so_ well. _'Oh, your birthfather? Yeah, he went a little crazy and we had to fight him, and then he jumped off a cliff.'_ "I think it's something you need to talk to your dad about tomorrow."

"I don't _want _to talk to him! I want…I don't know…" Marlene wiped at some more tears coming down her face. "I feel so selfish."

"It's not selfish, wanting to know about your past," Tifa said firmly. "It's my fault, too, for not talking to you about it. Some people…" She trailed off. After a moment, she said, "Some people have such painful pasts that they don't want to inflict them on other people. And some people don't like looking back. Cloud and I--and Barret--we've always just wanted you to be happy."

"I want to know the truth," Marlene whispered. "I want to know what _you _know."

Cloud put his hand on Marlene's shoulder. "We'll tell you what we know. It's not much."

"Barret told us the story of what happened a long time ago, but we don't know anything about your mother," Tifa said. "I had never even seen a picture of her until now."

"She's beautiful," Marlene said softly.

"She is. She looks like you." Tifa pressed the photo back into Marlene's hand. "We can tell you what you know, and tomorrow, you can talk to Barret. He'll be able to tell you much more. Dyne was his best friend."

Marlene had always been the most adjusted child Cloud had known, which was remarkable given some of the things she had seen and experienced. This was just a reminder of how broken even her past was. He suspected that Marlene was going to have to work things out with Barret before she could settle things in herself.

It was going to be an interesting visit.

:--:--:--:--:

Cloud wasn't present for Marlene's questions and conversation with Barret. It was something that was between them, and something that Marlene needed to discuss alone with him.

He did know that late that night, after Marlene and the other kids had gone to bed, Barret sat at the counter and gulped down a mug of Corel wine before dropping his head into his hands. Cloud looked at Tifa, who reached across the counter and squeezed Barret's shoulder with a hand covered in soapy water. After a moment, she went back to washing her dishes.

"You've done good." Barret's gruff voice carried through the bar. "Done a lot better with Marlene than me."

Tifa shook her head. "Barret…"

"'S true and you know it. You raised her up right. And she's jus' as forgivin' as you, Tifa. Know what she told me tonight? Told me she's glad she knows the truth and wishes I'd a told her sooner, but no matter what, she'll always be a Wallace."

:--:--:--:--:

The night after Barret left, Cloud paused in the doorway of the girls' room to see that Marlene was sleeping without her old comfort toys. On her night table was a pendant that Cloud recognized as the one Dyne had given to Barret.

Then, on the way downstairs, he noticed a new photograph among the many lining the stair hallway. In between a picture of Barret with Marlene and a picture of the Strife family was the photograph of Marlene and her birthparents.

Tifa had been right that some people didn't like looking back at their pasts. He knew from experience that some people could get stuck so firmly in their pasts that they had a hard time pulling out of them.

But Marlene had always been one of those very special people who knew that no matter what the past held, it was the present that mattered. She had never let the pain she had experienced hinder her, and had always tried to pull other people out of their misery and fill their holes. Even as a little girl, she had helped fill Cloud's.

As he continued on down the stairs, casting one last look at the photographs on the wall, he knew that Marlene was going to be just fine.


	27. Possible

**A/N: **Thank you to Ritsu-San, Calenlass, Kisdota, CrimsonShocker, mom calling, GaladrielofLorien, Zefie Kirasagi, VanillaCookies, Vladimir the Hamster, sizzchick, imaginedreams, vLuna, gingerbreadbear, 1080, Amos Whirly, Asterxia, Tae, P.P.V.V., Faith Angel, punkiemonkie, chocobo_strife, and Sienna for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

* * *

_**Possible**_

"I want to put lights here, and here, and here." Marlene walked around the bar, pointing at various spots. She paused, put a hand on her hip, and glanced up at the ceiling. "And maybe some across there, if we keep them away from the fans."

"Marlene, unless these lights get untangled, they're not going to be put anywhere." Denzel motioned to the giant ball of colored lights that he was trying to sort out at one of the booths.

Cloud raised an eyebrow as he emptied a box of decorations on one of the tables. Winter Solstice was fast approaching, which meant everyone was busy preparing for the holiday. Delivery requests had been flooding in nonstop and the bar was swarmed on a daily basis. Last night, the queue for service had been so long that Cloud had barely had room to squeeze inside after finishing deliveries. It was like this every year when visitors arrived in Edge for the festival and to visit family and friends.

"What are these?" Aria held up a handful of glittery bracelets. She was spending Winter Solstice with them this year. She was sorting another box on the table, as enthusiastic as Marlene and Denzel about the decorations and preparations for the holiday.

"Ooh!" Tifa set down the garland she was winding around the counter and hurried over to Aria. "Here." She took the bracelets and sorted through the colors. "These are very special."

"They're part of a Nibelheim tradition," Marlene explained as she dove into the mess of lights to help Denzel untangle them.

Tifa smiled wistfully. "Yes, they are, and I'm going to teach you, Aria, so that Marlene isn't the only other girl who knows it." She sat in one of the chairs, and Aria plopped into the seat beside her. "In Nibelheim, every girl received a set of bracelets like these to use during Winter Solstice. I've managed to get a hold of a few sets over the years. Marlene has one, and I have one, and now you will, too." She began handing bracelets one at a time to Aria. "Blue represents peace. Green is life. Yellow for joy. Silver represents friends, gold is family. White and red go together, and they mean love."

"Romantic love," Marlene clarified.

Aria's eyes widened a little. "Why are there two for love?"

"To give one away. Winter Solstice is a celebration of friends and family, and these bracelets are supposed to remind you of the beautiful things in your life. The red and white bracelets, though, were meant to be shared. When a girl got old enough, she was supposed to give the red band to the boy she loved. The red bracelets were the only ones that boys in Nibelheim wore." Tifa's fingers traced over one of the red bracelets still in her hand. "My father had one that my mother had given him," she said softly.

Aria looked at Cloud. "Do you have one?"

He exchanged glances with Tifa, a smile spreading across his face at the bright grin on her face. He held up his arm and pushed back his sleeve so Aria could see the red bracelet around his wrist. "Yes, I do."

"I haven't had my red bracelet for quite a while," Tifa said, and every word spoke of her contentment at that fact. She moved her sleeve out of the way, showing Aria the six colored bracelets she was wearing.

"I figured." Aria slid the bracelets on her arm and admired them. "Thank you, Tifa. I promise I'll take good care of them."

"I know you will."

Marlene cleared her throat. "Um, problem."

Cloud turned to see that Marlene had managed to get a string of lights wrapped around both of her arms, trapping her hands in the mess of lights. Amused, he began helping her unwind it while Denzel rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I should handle this part alone, Marlene." Denzel pointed at the neat stacks of light strings he had already sorted out. "Since I'm actually doing it _without_ tying myself up."

Marlene stuck her tongue out at him and shook her arms as soon as Cloud had freed her. "Thank you, Cloud."

There was a sudden, loud thumping on the door, and then a familiar voice shouted, "Will you open up or do I have to break and enter? 'Cause I can do that, you know!"

The kids brightened and Marlene raced for the door, unlocking it and flinging it open. "Yuffie! Hi! We're decorating!"

"Yeah, since this is the only day we've had the bar to ourselves _all week_," Denzel said, successfully extracting another string of lights from the huge ball.

"Ooh, do you have food?" Yuffie came in shaking snow off of her hair. "I'm starved enough to eat a chocobo!" She ran into the kitchen and Cloud could hear her rummaging around. When she came out, she was eating someone's leftover sandwich. He thought it might have been Denzel's. "I've been working _all day _on the festival preparations and let me tell you, it is going to be a _blast,_" she said around a full mouth. She swallowed and added, "And on that note--" She bounced over to the bar, where Tifa was putting the finishing touches on her garland decorations. Yuffie set her stolen sandwich on the counter and jumped onto one of the barstools.

"No, Yuffie, I'm not going to stand in the giant chocobo costume," Tifa said blandly.

Yuffie waved a hand. "Whatever. I wasn't going to ask you to wear the giant chocobo costume. Now, Cloud…I bet if we stuck some feathers on him, we could pass him off as a chocobo without the costume."

Cloud just looked at Yuffie to show her how very _old_ the joke was and how _not_ amused he was.

"I was _going _to say that we could really, really, really, really use an awesome baker person to make some goodies for the welcome booth," Yuffie said. "So what do ya say, awesome baker person?"

"How many goodies are we talking about here?" Tifa asked, turning and folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, not too many. A thousand cookies? Cupcakes? Something tasty and sugar-filled?"

"And when exactly do you need these thousand goodies?"

"By tomorrow afternoon," Yuffie said promptly.

Cloud's eyebrows went up.

"Yuffie--" Tifa began.

"I knew you'd do it!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Thanks, Tifa. You're the best. I'll have all the baking stuff dropped off here in a couple hours, okay? I've gotta get going now; there's still a gazillion things to do and the festival starts tomorrow night. I'll send someone tomorrow to pick up the goods, 'kay? Thanks! Bye!" And she was out the door, half-eaten sandwich in hand, before anyone could respond.

"Why do I always let her do that?" Tifa asked.

"Because you like baking and helping out with the festival?" Cloud suggested.

"True enough." Tifa stretched her arms out in front of her and smiled. "Guess I'd better figure out what I'm making, hm?"

True to her word, Yuffie had a load of flour, sugar, eggs, and other baking supplies dropped off at Seventh Heaven that afternoon. By then, the bar was decorated, and everyone helped chip in with tossing ingredients together. After Cloud's infamous disaster with trying to make chocobo cookies, he'd had several baking lessons--enough that he at least knew not to drop tartar sauce into the recipe when it called for cream of tartar. He was still happier just spooning out the dough or cutting out cookie shapes after someone _else _had mixed everything together, though, so he handled getting cookies onto pans and into the ovens while Tifa and the kids did the mixing.

The kids were sent to bed much later than usual, but still far earlier than Cloud and Tifa. It wasn't until all of the goodies for the next day were finished that Cloud and Tifa collapsed into bed, exhausted and not caring that they were covered in flour.

Tifa rolled onto her side to face Cloud. "Thanks for helping with the baking."

"I'm just glad I didn't destroy anything," he said. He opened his arms as Tifa wiggled closer to him.

"I love Winter Solstice," she mumbled, stifling a yawn in his shoulder. "I'm glad there are some happy traditions from our childhood that we can keep and share."

Cloud understood what she meant. His childhood in Nibelheim may not have been full of the best memories, but Winter Solstice had been a magical time in his house. His mother had loved the holiday, and even though at times he had thought it was stupid (maybe, he admitted to himself, because he hadn't wanted to walk around on the streets during the festival, wondering if Tifa would give her red bracelet away to one of the boys who vied for her attention), it had been a time that he could look back on with more good memories than bad. For him, that meant a lot.

"I hope that when the kids are grown up and off on their own, they'll remember these things," Tifa whispered. "I hope they remember more happiness than sadness in their lives. Do you think that's possible? After everything they've been through?"

Cloud's arms tightened around her. "I think," he said after a moment, "after everything they've been through--after everything we've been through--there are a lot of things that are possible that I had never imagined would be. They're happy now, aren't they?"

"Yeah. I really think they are."

"And aren't you always the one telling me to let today be today and tomorrow be yesterday or something like that?"

Tifa laughed. "'Let today be today, worry about tomorrow when it comes, and don't let yesterday ruin what you could have today.' That's what Zangan always told me, anyway. Sometimes it's easier said than done."

"Mm." Cloud rested his forehead against Tifa's and watched her close her eyes.

"Except right now I'm so tired I'm not sure what day it is or what I should or shouldn't be worrying about." Tifa yawned again. "Good night, Cloud."

She was asleep almost before he had time to answer. "Good night." He closed his eyes, holding Tifa in his arms and listening to the faint howl of the wind outside as it whipped snow through Edge, and knew that the kids weren't the only ones gathering happy memories for later years.


	28. Gone

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed: mom calling, Kisdota, punkiemonkie, Calenlass, shadowneko, Iskra revoir, Puggles Master, celticskydancer, P.P.V.V., chocobo strife, Asterxia, Teegirl, sizzchick, 1080, kitsune, Shari Joy Rose, Ame Namikaze, vLuna, Synchrony, and Lupiesden.

* * *

_**Gone**_

The second time that Tifa left to take care of an out-of-town situation with some orphans, she gave Cloud some final teasing words. "If you bake potatoes, remember to poke holes in them first. Marlene should _not _need cookies for school, but if she does--"

"I know how to make them now," Cloud said dryly.

"And Cloud? Fruit pies are not a healthy dinner food." Tifa looked behind Cloud at Marlene and Denzel. "Or breakfast, or lunch."

"Aww!" Denzel groaned. "But this the only time we get dessert for dinner!"

"The point of dessert is that it's _not _dinner, sweetie," Tifa said, pulling Denzel into a hug. She kissed Marlene's forehead. "Be good."

"I'm always good," Marlene pouted.

Cloud had several memories of temper tantrums, crankiness, and arguments that would disprove Marlene's claim of perfect behavior, but he kept his mouth closed and exchanged amused glances with Tifa.

"Cloud, if you need anything, I have my phone."

"Tifa, I can handle it. Your kitchen will be clean and intact when you come back. It can't go worse than last time, right?"

He really should have known better than to speak those words. After _everything _in his life, he should have known better. As Yuffie said much later, _"Geez, Cloud, you really are thick, aren't ya? You don't say that kinda stuff without knocking on wood and holding some lucky charms and spinning around counterclockwise three times for good measure."_

Tifa raised an eyebrow, but smiled and kissed him goodbye, and then she was gone. For the next two days, it would just be Cloud and the kids, and he was determined that it would be much smoother than the mishap with the chocobo cookies four months earlier.

There wasn't much to do that day; it was after dinner already, so Cloud played games with the kids and then made sure they brushed their teeth before tucking them into bed. When they were asleep, he retreated into his office to sort out deliveries for the morning.

His plan was to be home by the time the kids were out of school. And maybe if everything had gone according to plan, he would have been able to head off disaster, but he ran into two things that made him late. The first was a monster who decided that he and his bike looked tasty. It didn't take much to dispatch the beast, but his bike ended up covered in monster innards that smelled awful. He'd been covered in worse, but the way the sun was baking him and his bike, he decided it would probably be best to stop and clean Fenrir before the monster guts hardened. He had enough time to stop at a pond on the way home and clean both it and himself off, and then he set off again, figuring he'd get home right about the same time as the kids.

That was before he ran into a woman on the side of the road with a flat tire. Cloud stopped and helped her change it. She thanked him profusely as he set off toward home again.

They kids had been alone for half an hour by the time Cloud finally pulled into the garage. As he opened the door from the garage to the laundry room, he heard a sound that sent a surge of cold fear and adrenaline through him. Marlene was shrieking.

Cloud had his sword out and was in the bar in a heartbeat, ready to take down whatever was harming Marlene.

What he faced was not anything his imagination would have conjured. Marlene was lying on the floor, and her shriek had turned into giggles. Standing over her, licking her face with enthusiasm, was one of the largest dogs Cloud had ever seen.

Denzel was sitting beside the dog, patting its side. He was the first one to spot Cloud, and his expression shifted from glee to something both hopeful and anxious. "Cloud!"

Marlene pushed herself off of the ground, wiping her arm across her drool-covered face, and the dog finally noticed Cloud. It moved over to him, sniffing him and his sword, then sat down and wagged its tail. It was in very poor shape--as big as it was, it was far too thin. Cloud could see its ribs sticking out. It was also very dirty and mangy, and had half an ear missing.

Cloud sheathed his blade and looked expectantly at Denzel and Marlene. They instantly began talking over each other in their rush to explain.

"We got here and he was just wandering on the road outside," Marlene began.

"And he looked so hungry; how could we just leave him alone?" Denzel continued.

"But you weren't home and so we decided to just bring him the leftover mashed potatoes--"

"--but he ate it so fast he threw it back up --"

"--and it was _so sad!_" Marlene looked up at him with huge, sympathetic eyes. "And he looked so scared! Someone walking by thought the dog was bothering us and tried to scare him away, and he just hid behind us."

"We thought if we brought him inside, maybe we could feed him really slowly and that he wouldn't be scared," Denzel added.

Cloud eyed the dog, considering it, and as if it knew it was under scrutiny, its tail began to wag again. Cloud lifted a hand, and the dog immediately cringed backward. Only when Cloud slowly lowered his fingers toward the dog did it tentatively sniff at him.

For all its bulk, it didn't seem to be a very tough dog. If Cloud had to guess, he would say the animal had been mistreated. That could have several effects on any animal--usually, it would make them wild and mean or it would make them timid and quiet.

Cloud carefully scratched the dog behind its ears, and it licked his wrist. Marlene and Denzel watched Cloud hopefully. "Can he stay here tonight?" Marlene asked. "Please, Cloud? Please? We can't just put him back on the streets! We have to find a good place for him to stay."

Denzel nodded his agreement, and Cloud couldn't argue that. He was sure that if Tifa was there, she would have said the same thing. A dog was far from one of the children she found homes for, but it was still a living thing in need of aid.

"Okay," he said, and both kids cheered. "_But_," he added, and they fell silent, "we need to get him clean. He can stay in the laundry room tonight. I'll see about finding him a good place tomorrow."

Giving the dog a bath was a disaster in itself. The dog didn't fight as they coaxed it upstairs, but washing it proved to be another matter entirely. By the time they had _her _(Cloud discovered that it was, in fact, a _she_ during the bath) clean, the bathroom was covered in water, mud and grime from the dog, soap bubbles, and a mess of wet towels. Cloud, Denzel, and Marlene were soaked. And as soon as they opened the bathroom door, the dog took off and ducked into the nearest open door, which happened to be Tifa and Cloud's room.

Cloud pushed his wet hair out of his face and followed after the dog. She had crammed half of her huge body under the bed in his room; with her size, he was amazed she had managed that much. Only by bribing the dog with food were they able to get it out from under the bed and back down the stairs to the laundry room.

As Marlene and Denzel cleaned up the bathroom, Cloud thought that would be the extent of the mess. Things would be in order when Tifa came home the next day, and if he hadn't already found a good place for the dog by then, she would undoubtedly have some suggestions of her own.

That night, after Cloud took the dog outside so she could do her business, the dog was shut into the laundry room with some food and water, and Cloud went to bed shortly after the kids did.

He woke up the next morning when the front door opened. He slipped out of bed, making his way toward the stairs, and relaxed when he recognized Tifa's footsteps. The kids were both still sleeping, so he went quietly down the steps to greet Tifa. She looked tired, but smiled and set her bag on the floor so she could wrap her arms around him and give him a long kiss. "I wasn't expecting you until this afternoon."

"I finished early and got a ride from Cid. How was everything?" she asked.

"It was fine. Your kitchen is perfectly clean. The kids didn't eat fruit pies for any meals. No exploding potatoes. And I haven't seen one hamster." Cloud paused, then added, "There _is_ a dog in our laundry room."

Tifa blinked at him. "A…dog."

He told her about the day before, and her eyebrows rose. "Well, should I meet this dog?"

"She probably needs to go out anyway." Cloud led Tifa to the laundry room and cautiously opened the door. The dog bounded over and tried to leap up to put her hands on his shoulders. He caught her paws and barely avoided a face licking. With the dog in his face, it took him a moment to understand Tifa's sharp intake of breath.

Then he saw the state of the laundry room. The dirty clothes' hamper had been knocked over, and all of the clothes inside were scattered across the floor. Many of them had been chewed on or ripped into pieces. The pipes that ran from the washing machine to the drain were also chewed through. The laundry detergent was spilled all over the floor.

Tifa stood in silence, staring at the mess, as the dog sniffed her hands and then licked them. She blinked down at the massive animal, then over at Cloud, and he saw a mixture of astonishment and resignation in her eyes.

Cloud opened his mouth to say something, and then settled with giving the dog a look he reserved for Marlene when her temper was flaring. As though realizing she had done something wrong, the dog stopped wagging her tail and her good ear sagged.

Tifa stepped into the laundry room and picked up one of her bras, chewed clean in half. She turned to Cloud, holding the undergarment pieces aloft, and he cleared his throat. "Well," he finally said, "at least she had good taste."


	29. Attitude

_**Attitude**_

It had been years since Tifa had seen Cloud. Years. And now that she had found him again, he was nothing like she had expected. She didn't know why she thought he should have been different, but somehow this attitude--the cockiness, the indifference--wasn't _Cloud_. How could it be? How could the quiet, insecure boy from Nibelheim have turned into this dispassionate mercenary?

_People change_, she told herself firmly, watching him sit in the corner of the bar while she reorganized her bottles of alcohol. The other members of Avalanche were down in the basement, probably wondering why she wasn't joining them, but all she could do was fiddle with bottles that didn't even need to be rearranged while she watched the man in the corner. She puzzled over him, over the state he had been when she found him at the train station, over why she felt like there was something missing.

_Who are you? Do you know how much I've wondered about you over the years? Do you know what you took with you when you left Nibelheim? _Tifa squeezed her eyes shut, fingers resting on the cool glass of a bottle for a brief moment before she opened her eyes and moved it to another shelf.

The sound of the lift brought her attention to the other side of the bar, but it wasn't Barret or Jessie or any of the other Avalanche members who came up from the basement. It was Marlene, her short hair tangled, rubbing her eyes and yawning. In one arm, she was clutching a pad of paper and her old crayons.

"Finally awake, hm?" Tifa asked her with a smile. "Have a nice nap?"

"Mmm. I'm hungry," Marlene replied, padding across the bar floor with bare feet.

"Marlene, haven't I told you that you shouldn't walk around up here without shoes? This is an old place and the wood is splintering."

Marlene's face sank. "I remember, Tifa, but my shoes hurt my feet."

Tifa frowned. "They're probably getting too small. All right. Be careful--go sit down and I'll get you something to eat."

Marlene immediately began to tiptoe across the floor. Instead of choosing one of the empty tables, she crawled onto the seat across from Cloud and peered at him over the table. "Hi."

Cloud looked back at her, his face expressionless. "Hi."

Tifa pulled out the leftover soup she had saved for Marlene and began to heat it up over the small stove. She glanced over to see Marlene beginning to color on the paper. Marlene picked out a crayon and held it out to Cloud. "Want to color with me?"

Cloud stared at her, and Tifa clenched her hands into fists, waiting to see if Cloud would crush the hopeful expression on Marlene's face. He was such a stranger now; she had no idea if he would care about playing with one little girl when he didn't seem to care about much of anything.

She relaxed when Cloud reached out and took the crayon from Marlene, and Tifa watched with a faint smile as they bent their heads over the drawing pad and began to color. Marlene was chatting cheerfully, and Cloud wasn't saying much at all, but she didn't seem to mind.

By the time Tifa carried the bowl of soup over to the table, Marlene declared, "There! I finished!"

Tifa peered at the picture. "Is that…Cloud?"

"Yup!" Marlene set her yellow crayon down and pulled her soup over to her. "Thank you, Tifa!"

Cloud looked from Marlene's drawing of a person with huge yellow hair to Marlene, then looked up at Tifa. She smiled at him and shrugged a little and went back to organizing her bottles. Though she was still puzzling over Cloud and his attitude, it was so good to see that he wasn't above drawing with Marlene.

"I'm going out," Cloud said, and Tifa straightened to see him opening the door. He barely gave her a glance as he added, "I'll be back later." He walked out of the bar, and Tifa let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"I like him," Marlene declared, and she slurped a spoonful of soup.

Tifa swallowed. "I do, too." _I just wish I knew who he was now._

After Marlene finished her soup, she tiptoed carefully across the floor back to the lift and went down. Tifa wasn't alone in the bar for very long, though; Cloud came back faster than she had expected he would. He glanced around the bar before approaching her at the counter and handing her a parcel. "For Marlene," was all he said.

Eyebrows raised, Tifa opened the parcel. Her eyes widened when she saw the slippers inside. "These…" They were made like socks, sewn with stretchy fabric. The bottoms were leather--tough, but bendable, so that it didn't matter that they were a little too long. Marlene could fit into them and still keep wearing them for a while even as her feet grew. "I grew up wearing slippers like this."

"My mom always kept a pair or two around for winter. Look, just tell Barret you got them. I don't want any hassle from him over doing something for his kid."

Tifa bit back a laugh. Barret _would _make a scene about it, probably demanding to know if Cloud thought he couldn't clothe his own daughter. "Thank you, Cloud."

Cloud shrugged as he went back to his corner table. Beneath Tifa's uncertainty and questions, beneath Cloud's attitude of nonchalance, she felt like she'd just had a real glimpse of _Cloud_. It gave her hope that maybe she would be able to unlock some of the mysteries surrounding his return, and she went back to her task with a smile on her face.


	30. Forever

**A/N: ****To my regular readers:** **This is not a new prompt! **I was rearranging and removing some prompts, and when I added them back in earlier, it sent out an email notification that there were new prompts.

**I have cut this prompt table down to thirty prompts. **I may still write more stories about these characters in the future, but I'll post them separately. Right now, I just feel like I'm forcing myself to write them because I signed up for a large prompt table, and it's not helping my writing at all. So this set of one-shots is going to stop at thirty. :) I'm sorry for the abruptness of this, but I've been contemplating it for a while. And I'm SO sorry for any confusion at the email notifications. This website doesn't give me the option of disabling sending out emails, which is annoying when I was trying to revamp things in the story file.

**Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read and review. I can't tell you how encouraging it was and how much I've appreciated it.**

* * *

_**Forever**_

It started with a touch of hands.

Tifa didn't realize it for many years. It just seemed such a small thing at the time. She was seven years old, happily skipping rope while her mother worked on weeding the flowers planted in front of their house.

Cloud was outside, sitting in front of his house, holding a muffin in his hand and continually peeking over at her. Every time Tifa looked back at him, he averted his eyes and picked at his muffin. He was always around, Cloud Strife, but he always seemed so far away.

The other kids all said he was a freak, and Tifa's father had said he was an odd kid. "Might be due to not having the influence of a father," he'd said gruffly on more than one occasion.

Tifa just thought he looked lonely. On this morning, his hunched shoulders and the way he was slowly eating his muffin just seemed so sad to her. Acting on impulse, she skipped rope over to him and smiled brightly. "Hi."

Cloud fidgeted and looked down at his lap. His voice was so quiet when he mumbled back, "Hi."

"Do you want to come skip rope with me? It's really fun."

Cloud's blue eyes flashed up to hers in astonishment. Tifa held her jump rope out to him, nodding encouragingly.

"I don't…"

"Please?"

Cloud stopped stuttering and now looked confused, as though he was wondering why she would possibly be pleading with him. He nodded slowly and ate the last bite of his muffin, standing and dusting his hands on his pants. He hesitantly took the jump rope that Tifa was dangling in front of his face, staring down at it.

"Go ahead," Tifa urged.

Cloud awkwardly grasped the handles of the jump rope, but it was obvious to Tifa that he had no idea what to do next.

"It's really easy. Well, sometimes it's hard to start, but once you practice it gets better. Here, I'll show you." She readjusted his hands a bit and flipped the rope over his head so it was lying behind him. "Now swing it up and this way…both hands at the same time," she instructed, and clapped when he brought the rope back over his head and successfully leapt over it. "See? Now you just do it over and over again."

It took some work, but Tifa stood at the side and cheered Cloud on as he slowly grasped the magical art of skipping rope.

The image of the happy smile on his face when he handed the jump rope back to her was forever engraved in her memory.

:--:--:

It left off with a touch of lips to his cheek.

Tifa didn't know what made her do it, except that part of her heart seemed to be walking off with Cloud. He was leaving Nibelheim with nothing more than an old, faded rucksack slung over his shoulder. He was going to the goodbyes and tears of his mother, and Tifa didn't want him to leave with just that.

She wondered why she cared so much, when all she had of Cloud were a few memories of times he had let her in, had joined her in her playing. A few memories of small, shy smiles and always, always glances her way. Maybe it was those few memories and those constant glances. Maybe even then a part of her recognized how precious they were. Maybe that was why she had made him promise to be her hero--because part of her recognized that there was so much more to him than the other townsfolk had ever bothered to see.

So she pressed her lips to his cheek as he prepared to depart Nibelheim and smiled a little as his cheeks reddened. She whispered in his ear, "Don't forget me."

Cloud took a few steps forward and then glanced briefly over his shoulder. "I would never forget you."

She barely knew him, this boy who had been her neighbor all her life. So why did she feel so empty at the sight of his back as he disappeared through the gate?

:--:--:

It was found again with a worried hand on his shoulder.

Out of all the people Tifa had expected she might run into at the train station, Cloud was at the bottom of the list. She had thought about what it might be like if she ran into him again, but as the months and years passed, she hadn't really known if she would ever find him.

He was a mess. If his stupor and initial incoherent babbling hadn't been enough, the obvious way he pulled himself out of the strange, dazed state he was in would have told her something was terribly amiss.

It became more obvious the longer she was around him. Tifa would have attributed his changes to their years apart and his time in SOLDIER, but it seemed more than that. She reminded herself that she couldn't _really _know, could she? She hadn't known him that well. Not really.

Maybe it was instinct that told her it was wrong. Maybe it was some memory. Maybe it was just sheer hope that there was more to the Cloud she remembered than _this_, than the man that was now in front of her.

Whatever the case, she knew that she would stick by his side and figure it out. She cared far too much not to hold onto him.

:--:--:

It fell apart with his hug.

Cloud stopped her in the hallway before bed one night and pulled her into his arms, surprising her so much that it took her a moment to wrap her arms back around him. It was so very rare for Cloud to just come up to her and initiate touch like this, and Tifa hated that her first reaction was worry. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she also didn't want him to think that if he hugged her, she automatically assumed something was wrong.

Maybe she should have asked. Maybe she should have dug deeper and sat down and talked to him, but when he pulled away and disappeared into his office, she let him.

The next morning he was gone, and he didn't come back that day. Or the next, or the next, or the next. There were no phone calls from him, no messages to tell Tifa that he was fine. He was just gone. There was part of her that was sure he would come back. She knew how hard he had been searching for a cure for Denzel, and he had left his medical books marked on the desk. Yet there was a part of her that was terrified he wouldn't.

Why wouldn't he just answer the phone? Didn't he know how much they needed him? How much _she _needed him? Didn't he know that she would _always _be there to work things through with him, if he would only let her?

She scrubbed down the bar counter for the third time, even though it was absolutely spotless and shining in the dim ceiling lights. Her mind was filled with memories of jumping ropes and a young boy leaving home, of flashing swords and blood, of smiles and laughter and gentle teasing, of a friend and protector. Of someone she loved with every part of her being and who was missing from her life.

Again.

:--:--:

It started with a touch of hands.

Tifa held her arm out toward Cloud as he waded to the side of the pool in the church, dripping wet and that beautiful, small smile still on his face.

Cloud grasped her hand and she helped tug him out of the water. They kept hold of each other even when he was out, eyes locked and searching. She saw it in his eyes, then, that glimmer and peace, recognizing the same smile that had been on his face so very long ago when she had convinced him to skip rope with her.

It was in that moment that she was positive that everything was going to be all right. They had reached a turning point, a new beginning, and suddenly the future seemed more open than it ever had before. She wasn't naïve enough to think they had forever, but she somehow knew that they were going to take every day they were given and they were going to _live_.

Together.


End file.
